Burrow Sorrows Walkthrough: Reclaim the Burrow From the Kobolds

Starting Burrow Sorrows

One of the five Sanzhani favors feeding Letters to Lunka, “Burrow Sorrows” appears around Boar’s Back — guides place the Sanzhana north of the Boarback Trail shrine, northwest of Shrike’s Crag, and near the Small Bridge shrine south of the military camp. Like every Sanzhani quest, it materializes only when you walk close; follow the wailing and the fairy ring.

The Sanzhana’s story is urgent and familiar: kobolds have invaded her den, and she demands you remove them and recover her sacred charm. Head north to the den, crouch, and go inside.

Clearing the Den

The cave is a standard kobold pack fight — small, fast enemies in groups. Our bestiary covers their behavior; in practice, block-and-riposte fundamentals from the early skill order handle them comfortably. Wipe the cave, then take the charm from their crude shrine before you leave. The clearing costs about two time segments.

Report back to the Sanzhana to finish the quest and collect your letter-eligible favor.

The Twist

Back on the surface, the story quietly inverts: the burrow was the kobolds’ home, not hers. The Sanzhana lied so you would wipe out the den, and it is going to be her burrow now. The game delivers this without ceremony — no morality meter, no consequence, just the record. It is the second Sanzhani quest (after the teeth trade in Pearly and Precious) where the “harmless fairy” framing collapses on inspection, and it reframes the Tsarina’s favor economy: you are not a rescuer here, you are a contractor whose clients edit the briefs.

Rewards

Sources agree on the shape if not every number: the quest pays out in the 250 XP range plus a Kobold’s Blood potion (one tracker also credits the camp with a Razor-Edged Ruthless Chopper and a Sunbringer’s Pendant — treat the weapon and pendant as camp loot rather than quest rewards). Mechanically, its real value is the fourth-or-fifth tick toward the Sanzhani five: the extra day, the Tsarina’s Favourite Human trophy, and Lunka’s correspondence.

Clearing the Den: Tactics

The cave packs more kobolds than its entrance suggests, and they arrive in waves — so resist the urge to chase wounded runners deeper into the tunnel. Hold the entrance funnel, block the rush, and let area damage or a wide weapon arc thin the pack. The charm’s shrine sits at the back of the cave past the final wave, glowing for Focus Mode; grab it on the way out rather than mid-fight, since picking it up early changes nothing and fighting backward through respawned stragglers wastes segments. Total time inside: about two segments for a clean clear, longer if the kobolds pull you into their scrum.

What to Pair It With

Burrow Sorrows sits in the same Boar’s Back orbit as Pearly and Precious, and the two quests share a recommended level bracket and a start region within walking distance. Run them back-to-back in one trip from the Small Bridge or Boarback Trail shrine, and you bank two of the five Sanzhani favors for roughly six segments total — one of the most efficient favor-per-segment trades in the cluster. The den also drops kobold blood used in several crafting recipes, so sweep the bodies before leaving.

The Kobolds’ Side

The bestiary casts kobolds as mine spirits — territorial, communal, and protective of their hoards — and nothing in the den contradicts it. Their shrine, where the charm sits, is a real shrine, in a real home, arranged by creatures who had a life here before the Sanzhana decided otherwise. The game’s most telling detail is how ordinary the den looks once cleared: bedding, tools, stores. You are not standing in a monster lair at the end of this quest; you are standing in someone’s ransacked house, holding their evictor’s rent. Players who notice tend to approach the remaining Sanzhani favors with a more mercenary eye, which the writing quietly rewards.

One last practical note: the charm objective updates only when you physically pull it from the shrine, not when the last kobold falls — so if the quest does not complete on the way out, you left the shrine unlooted, not the cave uncleared.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I feel bad about the kobolds? The game never punishes you for it — but it also never claims the kobolds deserved it. The ambiguity is deliberate texture, not a hidden karma system.

Is the charm useful? No. It is a quest macguffin; its only function is completing the favor.

Does Burrow Sorrows have a fail state? None. Death reloads the autosave, and the Sanzhana’s scripted lie plays out regardless of how efficiently you clear the cave.

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Source: VGC, Method, GameSpot, and the Dexerto and GamerGuides quest databases; the twist is reported identically across all of them.