In The Hermit quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Henry has made his way into Blacksmith Radovan’s good graces by helping reclaim his supplies from bandits, but he’s still one step away from an invite to the all-important wedding.
Before they can make the journey, Radovan needs to forge the sword that’s to be a wedding gift for the young Lord Semine, but for that he needs first-class Damascus steel. Rumor has it that a nearby Hermit used to be a knight of some repute and has a broken sword made of such steel in his possession.
If Henry can get his hands on the Hermit’s sword, then he can come to the big party as Radovan’s guest in the Wedding Crashers quest.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 The Hermit quest guide
Your only lead from Radovan on where to find the Hermit is Betty, the innkeeper with the inscrutable accent in Troskowitz. Speak to her about the Hermit and she’ll tell you about his camp in Apollonia, but warn you against talking to him.
Apparently the Hermit has changed recently. While he used to help passersby and sell useful medicine, he now violently wards off travellers. The rumour is that after an illness left him at death’s door, he sold his soul to the devil and now does his evil bidding.
Whatever your opinion, it’s very easy to lose the thread of the quest here. It’s vitally important that you exhaust all of the conversation options about the Hermit with Betty. Otherwise, you won’t get the right quest markers on how to proceed.
Where to find the Hermit
To continue you need to investigate another mystery. Not only is the Hermit in league with the Devil, but dark apparitions have also been seen around the Consiliatory Cross to the west of Troskowitz. You’re given the task to question the villagers about the phenomenon, as well as to speak to Gerda, the apothecary’s wife, and Stanislav, another witness who herds sheep to the east of Troskowitz.
To complete the quest marker for questioning the villagers you not only have to go through every dialogue option with Betty, but also speak to your old friend Bara the beggar on the main street of Troskowitz.
Next, speak to Gerda at the apothecary’s shop in the southwest of town, and after you convince her you’re not teasing her, she’ll tell a tale of a black-clad spectre gliding across the landscape. If you return to her after solving the quest, she’ll give you a very useful alchemy skill book, so definitely make the trip.
Over in the east, Stanislav will corroborate the story, but also reveals some interesting tidbits about the supposed ghost looking as if it was getting lost along the road.
Either way, it’s time to investigate the cross. First, you need to make sure you have a shovel, which you can buy from the general store on the left-hand side of Troskowitz or steal from the cemetery. Then ride out to the cross and dig up the fresh earth at its foot.
Inside the mound you find money, documents and a deathly black robe just like the spectre was supposed to be wearing. Read the documents and you find out some interesting information about a band of knights from Prague operating in the area who sound an awful lot like the hooded travellers who’ve been seen around the village.
Also, you find a letter to Ambrose stating that the Inquisition wants to remove the Grand Master of the Knights of the Cross of the Red Star, something that will come into play later.
Next, ride along the road east out of Troskowitz, past Stanislav before turning north towards Apollonia.
On the right-hand side of the road, in the brush, you find a jet black horse. Another clue that the apparition was of worldly origin after all.
Continue north up the road and you will come to a stream.
Turn left and go up the hill until you see a pond.
Fork right from the pond and you’ll reach a larger clearing at the top of the hill.
Turn left at the clearing and in front of you will be a rockface will a cross design etched into the stone. Go around the path here and you’ll find yourself at the Hermit’s shack.
How to complete the Hermit’s request
Despite his attempts to clear you off, speak to the Hermit by his fireplace. Greet him peacefully and Henry will relay your findings to him directly. Say you learnt some interesting things about the Hermit and when he tries to deny his involvement, go through your evidence. The hiding place under the cross, knightly charters and black horse will be enough to persuade him to relent.
Press him with the starred conversation option and the Hermit will reveal that he’s not who he’s believed to be but a knight known as Konrad.
Ask about his story and show concern to gain some reputation. This means that when you ask about the sword, Konrad will agree to reveal its location, on the condition you help him fulfil Ambrose’s last wish.
Your task is to take a silver cross and a message to a widow in Troskowitz, who you can find either wandering the town, or at the pub during the evening.
Speak to Margaret and she knows exactly what you’re talking about and whisks you away to the Troskowitz cemetery.
There she recounts the story of her involvement with the original hermit, Ambrose, and what you can do to fulfil his final wish. First, say that “the dead should rest in peace”, then agree to lay his brother’s body to rest in the graveyard.
Again, if you need a shovel, you can “borrow” one from the shed in the graveyard. But it’s a quick task to hop outside the walls of the graveyard to the east, “pluck the flowers” and then “rob the grave”.
Don’t worry, you won’t get into trouble for “robbing” the grave, it’s just the term the game uses. Now grab the old bones and take them back to Margaret. “Rob the grave” again and the deed is done. Say a prayer over the body and play nice – this nets you a monetary reward from the widow.
To avoid spoilers, wait until the day time then return to the Hermit’s shack before you scroll past this image to the next section.
I say wait until day time because otherwise it’s incredibly difficult to see what you’re doing in the next part of the quest, and it’s hard enough as it is!
Should you kill or save the Hermit in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2?
As you arrive back at the Hermit’s clearing, because of the difficulty of this encounter, I would highly recommend making a save here either with schnapps or by exiting to the menu before playing again.
But when you arrive back at the clearing next to the Hermit’s shack, you find the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star have caught up to Konrad and are trying to take him in. Agree to speak with Brother Arn and he’ll relay the situation. He tells you that Konrad was paid by the Inquisition to kill the leader of their order and failed, but killed others as he fled.
Based on the letter you found under the cross earlier, you can make your own deductions about who is telling the truth. The knight suggests Konrad wasn’t pure in his intentions when he came to see Ambrose and wasn’t truthful with you either, but the quest journal within the game would seem to hint otherwise, outlining Konrad as an investigator within the order who found evidence of scheming.
But to cloud matters, Konrad was apparently about to skip out on you when they caught up to him, but managed to mortally wound another of the knights.
You now have the choice of whether to join the knights in storming the shack, or pitching in with Konrad against the knights. Brother Arn asks you to set the hay next to Konrad’s shack on fire as a distraction, but you need answers on the sword first!
Whatever your intention, first creep around the corner to speak with Konrad as he spots you walking through the pass.
Stop immediately when he tells you to, then choose the option to negotiate. Next say that you’re not there to fight with any option and he’ll let you come forward to talk.
It’s very important that you wait for the camera to zoom out and the conversation to finish before you move forward! Otherwise Konrad will immediately attack you.
Ask why they want to kill him and he says he has proof of the grandmaster’s treachery. I thought this didn’t make sense because the letter you found says the Inquisition wants to remove the grandmaster, not work with him.
Next, ask about the sword and he’ll tell you about the real Hermit’s grave to the north of the shack beneath two entangled birch trees. That’s where you’ll find the sword. You now have to choose whether you believe Konrad, or the knights.
Now, I’ve tested this multiple times, but if you save Konrad and manage to win the incredibly difficult fight against the knights, often he turns on you when they’re defeated and you have to fight him as well.
This would suggest that he was lying to use you all along, but you never know with this game – it could be a bug. Like I said, I tested this multiple times and when I managed to win, Konrad attacked me immediately.
The only way I could get Konrad to stay friendly was to load a save from before I spoke to him and attack the knights first. The easiest way to win is to load up a crossbow and shoot one of the knights in the head while they’re still unaware. This will aggro the others, but also bring Konrad running to your aid.
Retreat from the clearing and onto the narrow path just before Konrad’s hut. This narrow space should let you line up another headshot or two while Konrad keeps the rest at bay.
Once they’re defeated, Ambrose reiterates that he has proof of the treachery (without ever showing you anything), before thanking you, handing over some coins as payment and returning to his escape.
If you help the knights however, Brother Arn gives you a reward of Groschen and sheds a bit of light on the situation as they see it.
Apparently, Ambrose and Konrad were allies long ago, but Ambrose left the order after failing to live up to their values – which is why Ambrose broke his sword. When Konrad had nowhere else to go, he sought out his old ally who was no friend to the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star either. But when he found Ambrose ill and dying, Konrad assumed his identity to evade capture.
Ultimately, this is a gray situation that’s not exactly Henry’s fight to get involved with. Helping the knights is certainly easier, and they seem like upstanding people engaged in charity with little evidence to the contrary. Personally, I also find their subsequent explanation of the situation to be more convincing.
Where to find the Hermit’s Sword
Whatever your decision, your only way forward is to leave the battle scene and make your way up the hill to the gravesite. You find it pretty much where the map marker is, just at the top edge of the green circular marker. Uncover the grave and you can claim the Damascus steel sword for yourself.
If you’re wondering whether you could have just come here immediately and dug up the sword without any of the extra steps, you right! You totally could have! The sword spawns here as soon as you start the game, so you can do that on subsequent playthroughs if you prefer.
But with that tangled web behind you, return to Radovan and tell him you found the sword. You’re then given the task of forging the blade yourself. You do this like any other blacksmithing job – just remember to consistently move the hammer up-and-down the blade with each strike landing just next to the last one. Soon enough, it will be made.
Bring your work to Radovan and he’ll congratulate you on a well-made sword. As thanks, he’ll agree to bring you along to the wedding. At last!
Before you leave, now’s the time to clean up any last side quests you want to complete before you progress the story. You can also take the opportunity to go through the Miller’s series of quests towards the wedding too, since they serve as a tutorial for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2’s stealth and lockpicking mechanics, and you get a free dagger too.
For more on how to progress, take a look at our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 walkthrough!