Under Watchful Eyes and Mert Choice – Blood of Dawnwalker

Under Watchful Eyes Quest Start

The quest starts automatically the second you free Mert from his cell at the end of The Firebrand, whichever route you took to reach him. Hold on to the prison key. The cell is not the last locked door you need it for. You can also free the prisoner in the other cell.

1 – Escort Mert Through the Stoneward Post’s Main Gate

Mission Text:
“Mert was caught by the soldiers and taken to Stoneward Post for questioning. I need to speak with him, maybe help him get out of there… But it won’t be easy. The place is heavily guarded. – I freed mert from his cell. Now I need to get him out of Stoneward Post safely.”

The objective marker points at the main gate, but you do not have to use it. What you cannot do is take Mert up the walls with you, so all the vertical shortcuts are off the table for this one. Leave the tower on foot.

A group of guards is waiting on the way out and there is no way to sneak past them, so this fight is unavoidable. It is also the only fight in the quest, and it pays for itself.

Where to Find the Second Skin II Manual

One of the guards in that group is carrying a Second Skin II Manual. It goes straight into your inventory when you loot him, so clear the whole group before moving on rather than running for the door the moment Mert is clear.

Once the guards are down, cross into the courtyard in front of the prison, head left and go back towards the outer wall. There is a door there that opens with the prison key, and it puts you outside without ever going near the main gate or the guards posted at it.

Free Mert or Kill Him

Outside the wall, the quest ends on a conversation with Mert and two ways to close it. You can tell him to flee to the almshouse in Svartrau, or you can give in to the hunger and kill him.