Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon presents players with an intense perspective on the Arthurian lore. You get an open world for exploration and the game provides an RPG-styled theme where each of your actions have consequences. Despite having freedom of choice, you can experience several narratives, build your own skill tree and unveil all the secrets that remain hidden in this world.
One of the strongest features of the game is its list of side quests, most of which have little to no direction, and which can play out in a variety of different ways based on your choices. The “Burdening Letter” is such a quest. It’s a grey area side story that has players determining what happens through who they trust, or whose silence is more important.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Burdening Letter Walkthrough
Starting the Quest
The quest for the Burdening Letter is initiated when you find and read a letter called “Letter Written in Coal” while you are exploring the Old Shelter, a cave in the region of Cuanacht. Opening the letter initiates the quest and gives you three different potential solutions to complete it.
Unlike most RPGs, this quest offers very little guidance. There is no quest marker, no apparent path—only a vague hint: the author’s name begins with an “E” and he probably is a blacksmith. It’s left up to you from here to figure out where the letter came from and what you do about it.
Quest Outcomes – Three Paths, Three Endings
Your decision of who to give the letter to will decide the end of the quest. All three choices have the same amount of experience, but provide varying moral tones and storytelling repercussions.
Delivering the Letter to Caed
If you opt to take the letter to Caed, he responds gravely and promises that the perpetrators will be brought to book. This route presents you as a person who values accountability and maintains order. As a reward for your inconvenience, Caed pays you 1,700 XP and a special item: the Deserter’s Scalp, essentially ending the quest.
Delivering the Letter to Erfyr
Finally, if you pursue the clue of the letter and find Erfyr, the letter’s writer and the blacksmith, the meeting unfolds more personally. Erfyr neither denies writing the letter nor appears particularly terrified. But he definitely does not want the affair to get worse. If you promise to remain silent, you are rewarded with 1,700 XP, and the quest is completed without trouble—rendering this more neutral or merciful path.
Delivering the Letter to Denholm
Alternatively, you can bring the letter to Denholm, a second NPC in Cuanacht. When he reads the letter, Denholm becomes fearful and urges you to silence about the information. While talking, you also have the choice of extorting additional gold from him. This route earns you 1,700 XP and a bit of additional coin, suited for players embracing a morally ambiguous or opportunistic role.
