Queen's Gambit

"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.

Queen's Gambit
Vanasha is helping the child king Itamen and his mother Nasadi defect from the Shadow Carja to Meridian. But their path is dangerous, and they are certain to be pursued.
Level	28
Type	Side Quest
Given by	Vanasha
Location	The Branded Shore The Daybrink
Enemies	Eclipse Cultists Rockbreaker Corrupted Thunderjaw Corrupted Watcher
Reward	1 Skill Point 9,330
Progression
Previous	Traitor's Bounty

"She made it sound so sweet and easy. Find the best path to the lake, make sure it's safe. What could go wrong?"

―Three-Toe Huadiv

Queen's Gambit is a side quest in Horizon Zero Dawn.

Synopsis

At the end of Traitor's Bounty, Vanasha reveals that the death of High Priest Bahavas has created a window of opportunity for the captive Dowager Queen Nasadi and her son, Prince Itamen, to defect from Sunfall and escape the Shadow Carja. Vanasha has quickly put a plan in place to get them across the Daybrink to Meridian under cloak of night. She asks for Aloy's help in securing the arrangement and directs her to check on a friend she has hired to clear the escape route, Three-Toe Huadiv.

Aloy finds a visibly injured Huadiv at a campfire near the Branded Shore. He confirms that Vanasha asked him to clear a path for the royal family but complains that he was misled about the amount of danger involved. Huadiv reveals that his entire crew has been killed by an underground machine. Knowing that Vanasha is on her way with the royals, Aloy must defeat the Rockbreaker in the pass on her own. Once the machine is dealt with, she rejoins Huadiv to wait for Vanasha to arrive with Nasadi and Itamen.

The group travels toward the lake, but eventually shouts in the distance alert them to an oncoming attack from Shadow Carja, who are attempting to stop the rescue. Vanasha instructs Huadiv to keep moving and get the royals to the waiting boat, vowing that she and Aloy will stay behind to fight off the Eclipse assault. After defeating two waves of cultists and corrupted machines, the women notice a lull in the fight. Two members of the Carja guard appear to escort the raft across the Daybrink. Suddenly, a corrupted Thunderjaw descends on them.

Aloy and the Carja guards fight the machine and then join Vanasha, Huadiv, Nasadi, and Itamen on the shore. Finally, the group boards a makeshift wooden raft and floats across the lake. They are greeted at Brightmarket's docks by Sun-King Avad, who is happy to welcome his younger brother. Avad greets Aloy and thanks her for helping the Sundom.

Objectives

1. Talk to Three-Toe Huadiv to see if he cleared a path for Nasadi and Itamen as Vanasha asked.
2. Kill the Machine in the Pass
3. Return to Three-Toe Huadiv
4. Prepare an Ambush - Place traps in the canyon.
5. Get to an Elevated Position
6. Kill the Cultists
7. Kill the Cultists and Machines
8. Talk to Vanasha
9. Kill the Corrupted Thunderjaw
10. Go to the Shoreline

Walkthrough

Queen’s Gambit - Very Hard - No Damage - Video Guide

Trivia

• If this quest has been completed before The Looming Shadow, Vanasha will join Aloy as an ally at the ridge in Meridian.
• Avad's line to Aloy will be slightly different if she hasn't met him yet during Into the Borderlands. This also unlocks an additional conversation option with him and Blameless Marad if the aforementioned quest hasn't progressed far enough.