To be honest, i don't know. I did the quest a week ago and am just coming back after realizing i never tied it up. THe bandits in murwood are all dead. The bandit by the water that you have to go through the other bandits to get to is dead. And t he note in the chest about the skull path has been read. I went south down the path, fought those bandits, but found no special notes or trinkets that I might discuss/show to the guardian in Astoria's fortress. I don't know what I've missed.
If i never finish this q uest officially, can i still get whatever follows, that's dependendent on it?