Should You Betray Your Allies? Brencis Deal Routes Explained

Betraying your allies is the single darkest decision in Blood of Dawnwalker — and the game goes out of its way to make it available from three different routes. At the finale’s parley, Brencis names his price for Coen’s family: the Manumits. Accept, and the rebellion dies. This guide covers all three betrayal routes, the exact dialogue that triggers each, and what you permanently lose.

The Moment Itself

The offer arrives inside A Deal with the Devil, once you follow Brencis into Shrike’s Crag. The choice is not abstract — Brencis asks for a name. Whoever Coen brings to Greifberg is who he must hand over, and the dialogue options change depending on which ally chain you finished:

Route	The line that betrays	Requirement
Face Brencis alone	“I just want my family back.” → confirm with “I’ll do it.”	Progressed Lacra’s chain to Midnight Reckoning or Crake’s to Rise at Dawn, then walked into Greifberg alone
Betray Lacra	“I accept your offer. I’m sorry, Lacra.”	Bring Lacra through her full chain to Midnight Reckoning, then take her to the confrontation
Betray Crake	The parallel acceptance line in the Crake route	Bring Crake through his chain to Rise at Dawn

Avoid any dialogue option marked with a sword — those make Coen attack Brencis instead, which voids the deal and, per the parley outcomes, gets Coen’s family killed.

The One Rule That Decides Everything: No Allies, No Deal

Here is the mechanic most players learn too late: if Coen reaches Greifberg Castle without any allies, Brencis has no one to demand he betray — so no deal is ever offered. The solo Folk Hero fight simply begins. The betrayal option only exists because you built something worth destroying. It is the game’s final commentary on the whole ally system: the closer you got to Lacra or Crake, the more there is to lose.

What Betrayal Costs

• The Manumits are massacred. The hideout is marked; the rebellion ends.
• The route ends before the Brencis battle. Accepting the deal ends Lacra’s or Crake’s chain at the betrayal cutscene — there is no fight, only the Turncoat ending sequence.
• Three endings lock out. Refusing is what keeps the Folk Hero, Patricide, and Knyazmaker routes alive in that playthrough.
• Lunka still returns as a vampire. Family survival and Lunka’s fate are separate tracks, as the family exit guide explains — the deal saves your parents and sister, not her.

What You Gain: The Turncoat Achievement

Accepting the deal unlocks The Turncoat achievement — the one unique reward on this path. It is safely collectible: make a manual save before lighting the signal fire, take the deal, watch the cutscene, bank the achievement, and reload. The full turncoat walkthrough covers a dedicated route if you want the ending on its own terms.

Refusing: What the Other Side Looks Like

Declining the deal routes you toward the game’s three allied endings, depending on your chain:

• Folk Hero — beat Brencis alone, no deal, no help
• Patricide — the Lacra route through to its end
• Knyazmaker — the Crake route through to its end

These are the endings most players consider the “real” conclusions, and all of them require the same thing: walking away from the family-saving temptation at Shrike’s Crag. As the finale quest guide notes, refusing the deal also leaves the castle assault meaningfully easier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should you betray your allies? Mechanically, almost never — refusal protects three endings and keeps the finale easier. The only reasons to take the deal are the achievement, the cutscene, and role-playing a broken Coen.

Can you betray both Lacra and Crake? No. The confrontation happens once, with whoever you brought. The other ally’s fate is decided by whether you finished their chain at all.

What if I attack Brencis by accident? Sword-marked options void the deal immediately. If you wanted the Turncoat achievement, reload your pre-parley save — there is no second chance in the same run.

Does romancing Lacra change the betrayal? The betrayal cutscene is harsher with a completed romance, but the route requirements and outcomes are identical. The game saves its cruelest writing for players who finished everything first.

Can you see the betrayal cutscene without committing to it? Yes — the manual-save trick works at the signal fire just as it does at the throne. Watch it, reload, and your rebellion lives on.

Related Guides

• Turncoat ending walkthrough — the ending this choice creates
• Brencis dialogue choices — the full parley option list
• A Deal with the Devil — the finale quest structure
• Marat and Lacra allies compared — which chain leads where
• Take your family and leave? — the exit question