A burned diary, a locked laboratory, and a settlement haunted by failed experiments-“That Which Remains” in Avowed plunges you into the heart of Shatterscarp’s darkest secrets. As you unravel the fate of desperate survivors and confront the Dreamthralls lurking below, every step forces you to choose between mercy and pragmatism, knowing no outcome will satisfy all. Will you deliver salvation, or seal their doom?
This Avowed guide includes a full “That Which Remains” walkthrough, including how to start the quest and details about the rewards you get depending on the choice you make.
’That Which Remains’ walkthrough in Avowed
The “That Which Remains” side quest in Avowed begins as you investigate a burned-down settlement in the Shatterscarp region, just east of Eagle’s Reach. Start by finding a ruined house with a hole in the roof-climb up, drop inside, and loot the Flame-Eaten Diary from a corpse to trigger the quest. Your next objective is to locate the Research House Key, which you can access by following a path to the right of the house, breaking a metal grate with an ice spell or throwable, and entering through a hidden cave tunnel. After retrieving the key, unlock the nearby laboratory, defeat several Ash Blights, and collect important items including the Spindlewalker shield and the Well Key. Use the Well Key at the settlement’s well to descend into the Scaedclef Grotto, where you’ll face Crystal Eater spiders and uncover a group of survivors barricaded from Dreamthrall-affected villagers. The quest culminates in a moral choice: kill the Dreamthralls, secure provisions for the survivors, or attack the researchers-each option leads to different outcomes and rewards, typically 900 gold and experience points upon completion.

Starting “That Which Remains” takes a bit of dedicated exploration. Head to the Scaedclef Homestead north of the Ancient Lakebed and east of Eagle’s Reach. You’ll see a ruined building with a hole in the roof. The eaves over the door are just out of reach, but you can climb on the fence to the door’s left and then jump to the roof that way.

Inside, you’ll find a corpse with some materials and the Flame-Eaten Diary item on it. The diary mentions a laboratory and a key. You can also just skip this step and move on to the next.
Whatever your decision, leave the house, turn right, and walk toward the sign a short distance away. To the left is a small grate barring entrance to a cave. Use an ice spell or toss an ice grenade to break the metal, and head inside. The short tunnel drops you in another ruined house, where you’ll find the lab key.

Grab it, head back outside, and deal with the fire monsters there. Turn left, and enter the laboratory using the lab key. You’ll find yet another key inside, this one for the well in the center of the settlement. Unlock the well, and enter it.
The first main cavern is full of crystal spiders. Deal with them, and enter the next room, whose primary feature is a cage housing several people afflicted with the Dreamscourge. You can’t hold a conversation with them, and they pose no threat to you. To the right of the cage is a set of small stone ledges you can climb. The path at the top leads you to another cavern, this one with three non-infected researchers hiding from the Steel Garrote inside.

Speak to them to find out how this scenario came to be and to choose what happens next.
Should you kill the Dreamthralls in ’That Which Remains’?
The decision to kill the Dreamthralls in “That Which Remains” is a morally complex one, with no outcome that feels entirely right. If you choose to kill the Dreamthralls, you are granting the survivors’ request to end the lives of their friends and loved ones who have been transformed by the Dreamscourge, allowing the survivors to seek refuge at Eagle’s Reach or request better provisions-both options yield similar rewards of gold and experience. Alternatively, you can spare the Dreamthralls and promise to secure provisions from Captain Wymgar, which also results in the same material rewards but leaves the Dreamthralls alive. Ultimately, the choice is about your approach to mercy and pragmatism, as neither path significantly affects the broader story, but each leaves a lasting impact on the fate and conscience of the characters involved.

Maegild, the group’s leader, asks you to kill the Dreamthralls for them, but Tobin wants to secure additional provisions so they have more time to wait for the Steel Garrote to stop hunting them.
If you agree with Tobin’s plan, travel to Eagle’s Reach, and speak with Captain Wymgar in the center of the camp. He’ll agree to send supplies, and the quest ends.
If you agree to kill the Dreamthralls, go back to the previous room, open the cage door, and attack the people inside. They put up no resistance. (It’s rough.) Speak with Maegild again.
The quest doesn’t end here, though. Fewen, convinced it’s over for them all, asks you to kill her, too. You can tell them to go to Eagle’s Reach or agree to kill Fewen. The quest ends after the conversation or after you kill Fewen. There’s an extra bit of dialogue with Wymgar if you send the researchers to Eagle’s Reach, though the outcome has no influence on the rest of Avowed’s story.
’That Which Remains’ rewards
Completing the “That Which Remains” side quest in Avowed rewards players with 900 gold and 434 experience points, regardless of the choices made during the quest. Whether you choose to secure provisions for the survivors by speaking with Captain Wymgar or decide to kill the Dreamthralls, the primary reward remains the same: 900 gold and a set amount of experience. No additional unique items or long-term consequences are tied to your decision, making the reward structure straightforward and focused on gold and experience.
This quest’s rewards are comparatively modest, though you only get all of them if you keep Fewen alive.
- If you secure provisions, you get 900 gold and experience, though the amount of experience varies depending on your current level
- If you kill the Dreamthralls and send the researchers to Eagle’s Reach, you get 900 gold and the same amount of experience as with the first option
- If you kill the Dreamthralls and kill Fewen, you only get experience points
What hidden secrets lie within the abandoned laboratory in Avowed
The abandoned laboratory in Avowed conceals a trove of dark secrets tied to forbidden animancy experiments. Hidden behind a secret entrance-often revealed by a concealed button near a blank wall-the lab was the site of groundbreaking and dangerous research into spiritual self-combustion and soul transference.
Inside, you’ll discover detailed logs and journals chronicling the animancers’ attempts to extract and bind souls, culminating in a harrowing experiment where a soul was transferred into a new vessel. This experiment turned violent, resulting in the newly animated body attacking the researchers in a frenzy, leaving chaos and bloodshed in its wake. The aftermath is preserved in the lab’s scattered notes, eerie silence, and evidence of the animancers’ hubris.
Beyond lore, the laboratory also contains valuable loot and unique items for players willing to brave its dangers and uncover its mysteries.
What are the true purposes of Salvius’s secret lab outside Fior mes Ivèrno
Salvius’s secret lab outside Fior mes Ivèrno serves as a clandestine site for animancy experiments, hidden from public scrutiny. The true purposes of this lab revolve around Salvius’s pursuit of advanced and controversial animancy research, likely involving soul manipulation, spiritual transference, and possibly forbidden techniques that mainstream animancers avoid. The lab is concealed behind a hidden entrance, accessible via a secret button, and contains valuable lore, logs, and loot that shed light on the morally ambiguous nature of Salvius’s work. These discoveries suggest that Salvius’s experiments push the boundaries of ethical animancy, reflecting the broader tensions and dangers associated with soul science in Avowed’s world.
