So there I was, minding my own business in Throne and Liberty, when a side quest called Traces of the Missing decided to humble me. You know the type: the objectives sound like a grocery list — find a page, open some coffins, kill a couple of mages — and then the game laughs at your optimism. If you're reading this in 2026 and still stuck, welcome. Pull up a decayed coffin. Let's suffer together. 😅

This quest lives in Syleus' Abyss, the public dungeon tucked inside Laslan's Carmine Forest. You'll stumble into it eventually if you poke around the side quests there — it's the big, spooky hole in the woods that practically screams "bad decisions ahead." The first two floors are tuned for levels 20–30, so if you're a fresh adventurer, congratulations: you're exactly the right amount of underprepared.

The four-step recipe for mild chaos

Here's what the quest actually asks of you:

• 📜 Collect a lore page from Collection: Expedition Records: Syleus's Abyss 1F-2F

• ⚰️ Investigate two Decayed Coffins

• 💀 Defeat a Spectermancer

• 👻 Defeat a Spectral Shadowmancer

Simple, right? Ha. Ha ha. No.

Step one: the lore page that wants to be overlooked

Why is the first objective always the easiest and yet somehow the most annoying? You walk through the front door into the main hall on the first floor, look to your right, and there it is — a lore page just chilling on the floor like a discarded receipt. No glowing beacon, no fanfare. Just pick it up and pretend you were paying attention the whole time.

Step two: coffin roulette

Next up: Decayed Coffins. These are the interactable ones, and you need to open two of them. Easy enough — except every time you crack one open, undead spawn and try to ruin your day. They're regular enemies, though, so unless you've been fighting with your eyes closed, you'll be fine. Just wander the halls, open coffins like you're shopping for discount furniture, and move on. ⚰️✨

Step three and four: the portal waiting game

Now for the main event: Spectermancers and Spectral Shadowmancers. These charming individuals don't just spawn like normal enemies. Oh no, that would be too kind. They only show up when portals are active in the dungeon. You'll know a portal is active if there's a red skull on your map. Head toward the skull and hope for the best.

Here's the part that made me question my life choices: the portals cycle through colors. They start white, turn green when a Spectermancer appears, then turn blue when a Shadowmancer spawns. Do you need to do anything to trigger the first change? Nobody knows. Not me, not the forums, not the guy AFK near the portal. Either wait it out or lure enemies near the portal and kill them to speed things along. Bring patience. Bring snacks. Bring a friend who owes you a favor.

Why bother?

Because the rewards are actually worth it. You get resources for leveling skills, and while you're farming the dungeon you can also scoop up Quality Marind and weapon mastery points. Is that enough to justify staring at a portal for ten minutes? Maybe not. But your Codex isn't going to complete itself, is it?

So there you have it: a quest that tests your patience more than your combat skills. Find the page, open the coffins, camp the portals, and remember — if you're suffering, at least you're suffering efficiently. Now go forth and make that red skull on your map feel useful. 🗡️💀