The "Echoes of Silenced Bells" quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker presents one of the game's more challenging and unsettling early-game experiences. Players must contend with navigating a hostile convent, making significant moral decisions, exploring dark catacombs, and ultimately facing a powerful boss.
This quest automatically becomes available after completing the prologue, "Smoke and Ashes," provided the character Anca is still alive. It's crucial to manage your blood level before speaking with Anca during the night to avoid accidentally harming her.
Preparing for the Convent
Your journey begins by meeting Anca at the Crossroads Inn on the east side of the map. Once your conversation concludes, you can travel to the convent, which consumes one turn. The path forward involves securing safe passage to the library, exploring the catacombs with Anca, and deciding whether Anca should attempt to rescue the nuns.
Securing Access to the Library
Upon entering the convent and evading the initial group of nuns, you'll need to join Anca upstairs. Interact with points of interest to unlock new objectives: investigate the infirmary, the chapel, and the bell tower. The primary obstacle is a large number of zombie nuns blocking the library entrance.
There are two main methods to gain access: either by finding St. Tyna's relic to bribe soldiers or by using the bell tower signals to control the nuns. Completing at least one of these objectives is necessary, though pursuing both can offer additional options. It is advisable to seek St. Tyna's relic first.
Finding St. Tyna's Relic
From the balcony, descend to the left and use the shelters to reach the infirmary, avoiding the nuns. Utilize focus mode to locate a window on the infirmary's left side, below the stairs. Interacting with this window will reveal Brencis' soldiers who will grant access to the library in exchange for St. Tyna's relic, initiating the "Most Precious Thing" sub-quest.
To find the relic, return to the balcony and descend to the right. Carefully sneak through the gallery to avoid detection. Upon reaching the church wall, proceed left to find the church's main entrance, or continue northwest to explore the area beyond the courtyard.
Within one of the northwest buildings lies St. Tyna's relic. For a more thorough investigation, which requires two turns, enter the church first. Examining the prayerbook and rosary on a nun's corpse provides a vital clue. You can also examine St. Tyna's corpse and the paintings in the broken display. After your investigation, leave the church through the main door and turn right.
According to the compelled nun's spirit, the relic is in the sacristy. First, enter the small shed west of the church to find the key to the sacristy by examining a nearby nun's corpse. ![The locations of the convent keys and St. Tyna's relic in The Blood of Dawnwalker's "Echoes of Silenced Bells" quest.]( "The locations of the convent keys and St. Tyna's relic in The Blood of Dawnwalker's "Echoes of Silenced Bells" quest.")
With the key, you have two options for library access, with the bell tower signals serving as an alternative: return the relic to the soldiers for the infirmary key, sacrificing the relic itself, or confront the soldiers. If you choose to fight, defeat them, loot the infirmary key, and inform Anca that the path is clear. The relic can be sold or equipped to enhance witchcraft abilities.
Using the Bell Tower Signals
From the balcony, drop right and sneak through the gallery to reach the church undetected. Proceed left to the other side of the courtyard, entering the westernmost building to find the Campana Loquitur book, which details how to operate the church bells. Without this book, the bells cannot be used.
To access the bell tower, if it is night, you can traverse the roofs and enter through a gap in the wall. During the day, you must sneak into the small shed west of the church, retrieve the keys (the same ones for the sacristy), and use them to open the bell tower door.
At the top of the bell tower, interacting with the rope allows you to use the dormitory, church, or infirmary signal. This directs the zombie nuns to the chosen location.
- Dormitory signal: Nuns move to the far side of the courtyard but still block the library.
- Church signal: Nuns gather in the church, clearing the path to the library.
- Infirmary signal: Nuns break into the infirmary, eliminating the soldiers. If this signal is used, follow up with the church signal to remove the nuns.
Before proceeding to the library, consider retrieving St. Tyna's relic if you haven't already. As the quest culminates in a boss fight, it may be advantageous to wait until night to utilize your vampire powers.
Exploring the Catacombs
Once the library path is secured, inform Anca you are ready to proceed. After investigating the library, push aside a bookcase to reveal a tunnel leading to the catacombs. Navigate this path, being mindful of the occasional zombie nun encounters.
At the catacombs' end, you will face the boss, Leonica. She employs several unblockable attacks, necessitating timely dodges. Her bat summoning attack requires careful timing to avoid. 
Leonica also summons minions. While Voracious Bite can be used on Leonica to restore health, it is ineffective on her minions, though defeating them can recover action points.
The Final Choice
Following the boss battle, Anca expresses a desire to undo the curse, presenting a final decision: destroy the notes by throwing them into the fire, or give them to Anca.
- Throwing the notes into the fire: The nuns remain at the convent.
- Giving the notes to Anca: The nuns disappear from the convent, seemingly freed, though Anca's dialogue suggests their fate might be more complex. This choice takes one turn.
Regardless of your decision, you can immediately return to the inn with Anca or arrange to visit her later, concluding the "Echoes of Silenced Bells" quest and initiating the "Between the Words" quest. The Blood of Dawnwalker is a narrative-driven RPG where player choices significantly impact the story.