A Needle in a Haystack is the nineteenth main quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It begins when Henry, pretending to be 'Karl', takes his vows as Brother Gregor and enters the Sasau Monastery to find Pious as part of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.
It is possible to skip this quest by infiltrating the Monastery secretly during Poverty, Chastity and Obedience and murdering one of the novices.
Synopsis[]
A fellow is hiding in the Sasau Monastery who I'm supposed to find and kill. All I know about him is that he's one of the novices.
Objectives[]
- Find out which one of the novices is Pious
- Kill Pious
- (Optional) Get keys or lockpicks
- (Optional) Get blood (0/1)
- Wait until the blood arrives the next day
- (Optional) Go back to Antonius
- (Optional) Right after evening mass, meet with Pious in the dormitory.
- Follow Pious
- (Optional) Right after evening mass, meet with Pious in the dormitory.
- (Optional) Go back to Antonius
- Wait until the blood arrives the next day
- (Optional) Kill another novice
- Kill Pious
- Take back your things
Walkthrough[]
Your quest to kill Pious in order to infiltrate the bandits is hindered by the fact you have no idea which of the novices he is - he could be Antonius, Lucas, Siskin, or Jodok. As an added complication, Radzig Kobyla would prefer you didn't kill him at all, requesting that you bring Pious to justice rather than assassinating him. Nevertheless, you have succeeded in getting into the Monastery undetected - never mind that you don't have any of your weapons, your armour, your money, your lockpicks, or even your horse, which are inaccessible behind doors with Very Hard level locks. Leaving you with only your white Monk's habit and slippers.
Henry is welcomed by the other novices - Antonius, Siskin, Jodok and Lucas
Oh, and that includes your Saviour Schnapps.
Now that you are 'Brother Gregor', your fellow novice Brother Antonius has been instructed to guide you through the monastery. He will give you a book, Everyday Labours, and you can talk to him for a time about why 'Karl' joined the monastery. Antonius will in turn tell you that he came to the Monastery because he likes books and wants an education. The two of you will set off on a tour of the Monastery, and he will remind you that you must fulfill your obligations as part of In the Cloister.
Be aware that killing anyone at any time will set the guards on you, and you'll have a very difficult time escaping, plus you'll fail the quest. You can also escape out of the Monastery if you can get through the locked doors, and retrieve anything you might want in order to complete your quest (although everyone is confused as to why a monk is wandering around the town). As tomorrow you will be expected to attend to your new duties, and the circators are very strict, take advantage of your last few hours of free time and get some snooping done.
Speaking to Antonius further can reveal more information about the life of the monks - Abbot Peter is old and the current monks are preparing to select a new Abbot when he passes. The leading candidates are John, the Circator, and Nevlas, the Provost, but the monks are all quibbling amongst themselves because of it. Antonius can also reveal what might be a crucial bit of information - Brother Cellarius might have some lockpicks.
Enter the dormitory wing and check the cellar, which will trigger Nasty Habits. Go upstairs to the dormitory and pass through the northern door. On the right hand side is a loose paver - searching it will start Worldly Goods. Finally, go speak to the Librarian about his destroyed book to launch Scattered Pages.
Now, if you like, go and find Cellarius. He can't help you find a weapon or wine, but he will trade you lockpicks in return for food (which can be stolen from the cellar or the kitchen, or by trading the potions you make during your daily chores). Alternatively, pickpocket the Prior and take the keys, which will unlock all the doors in the Monastery. There's also a key in the far kitchen storage room, on one of the shelves. You should also speak to Nevlas and John. John will ask you to dig up some dirt on his rival as part of In the Cloister, while Nevlas will request your help making some potions to ease the Abbot's ailment, sparking Libri Prohibiti.
Speak to some of the other monks to learn about the novices. Jodok is diligent and eager (perhaps too eager), Siskin is friendly but too wordly, Antonius is hard-working but doesn't pray much, whereas Lucus is quiet and secretive. After that, go and find the novices themselves. Don't snoop too much at this point and reveal anything about looking for Pious. If you tell the wrong person, you'll have the Prior after you, and if you tell the right person, you risk far worse.
Antonius freely admits that Siskin is ill-suited to the monastic life, and suspects that he has secrets. He also says that Lucas simply goes through the motions, as if just for life to be over. He thinks that Jodok is dangerous - cross him and he'll get the Circators to make your life miserable. If you ask for his help regarding Pious, he will point the finger at Jodok, although he doesn't rule out the idea of either Siskin or Lucas being involved.
Jodok tells Henry that Antonius is reliable and helpful, Siskin should be thrown out on his ear, and Lucas is being punished by the Circators. If you reveal that you are looking for someone, Jodok enthusiastically names Siskin, suspecting that he's not really devoted to the monastic life - pointing out that he's not been at morning mass for a long time.
Jodok Stats[]
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| 9 | 1 | 10 |
Lucas claims to have never spoken to Antonius, that Siskin doesn't follow the rules, and that Jodok doesn't like him, but is friendly with the Circators. He will refuse to tell you anything about his former life, how to break the rules, or who he suspects might be Pious.
Siskin seems quite friendly towards Antonius, finds Lucas to be very reserved, and thinks that Jodok is a rat. If you confide in him that you are searching for Pious, he agrees that it could be Jodok, but not Antonius.
Siskin Stats[]
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| 9 | 1 | 10 |
If you finger the wrong man as Pious, the novice will run off in search of the Prior, who will confront you. Don't tell him the truth. It will get you kicked out of the Monastery. Don't try and intimidate him, or he'll lock you in seclusion for a day in order to find out if you're really Karl, giving the REAL Karl's father plenty of time to show up (which means you have to run). At this point, you need to pass the speech check and make him believe that you want to stay, or your quest becomes a whole lot harder.
Prior Stats[]
Karl's father arrives
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| 11 | 2 | 13 |
Once you have done everything you wanted, go to bed and sleep til the 4th hour. The monks will all wake up and go to the church for morning mass. Now that you are officially a novice, you are bound to their rules.
If you are caught trespassing or not attending to your priestly duties, you will be punished by the Circators and potentially put in solitary confinement, especially if you talk back. This is especially annoying as you'll be released for mass the next morning, meaning you will have to go through your tasks from the beginning. Obey the prompts from In the Cloister to avoid trouble - or ingratiate yourself by drinking with them during Nasty Habits, giving you the option of getting out of trouble.
Henry is locked in solitary
The most straightforward way is to complete the other quests, which will build your relationships with the monks and reveal important information about who Pious might be while obeying the Monastery rules. You don't have to complete these quests if you think you know who Pious is already (or if you don't care) - just take care of the issue and get out of the monastery. The Circators are drinking in the cellars at night and everyone (except Siskin, who sneaks off to the Library) is asleep, so you have a lot of free time to go where you need to. It's possible to sneak out if you can unlock the doors, and get whatever possessions you need. Just don't wear your regular armour or weapons inside the monastery - they'll notice.
- In the Cloister. Dig up some dirt on Nevlas or John in order to sway the election in favour of your chosen candidate.
- Worldly Goods. You will find Siskin's secret stash, containing evidence that he is really who he says he is.
- Nasty Habits. You'll learn that Jodok is a toady, but that doesn't mean he's a bandit.
- The Trials of a Novice. Get the Circators to leave Lucas alone and he'll give you some information about Antonious, also demonstrating that Lucas is not Pious.
- Scattered Pages. Once 'The Art of Love' is repaired, Brother Librarian will give you the key to the forbidden books.
- Libri Prohibiti. Get the forbidden book.
- The Abbot's List. Read the Abbot's list to determine who is lying, who is telling the truth, who is keeping a secret, and whose story just doesn't add up.
Finally, search all the chests in the dormitory to find a dagger.
If you haven't figured it out by now, you should now know that Pious is (spoiler alert) Novice Antonius, the first novice you meet in the game and the one who no one suspected. There are a variety of ways to resolve the prickly issue and earn Kozliek's trust. First - do what he wanted, and kill Pious without delay. Steal a weapon (either Siskin's dagger or Antonius' dagger) and finish him off with Stealth Kill; sneak out of the monastery to get your own weapons, or else knock him out and murder him with your bare hands. Loot the body to take his strange die and be prepared to flee (hopefully you have already secured a set of keys or unlocked a door). The guards come running almost as soon as you commit the murder, so get out fast.
Secondly, you can tell Antonius what you know. As soon as he knows you suspect him, then at the next meal, you will be poisoned (you'll have to eat some stew), and wake up after a period of unconsciousness, where he will confront you. He'll admit that he tried to kill you, but regretted it - and even if he did some bad things, he doesn't want to be a bad person. Antonius (or Pious) offers you a deal - let him live and he will leave Sasau forever, and he will give you information to convince the bandits you're on their side.
Pious Stats[]
Pious and Henry prepare to stage the murder
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| 18 | 1 | 15 |
At this point, you can kill him in a fistfight, grab the dice, and run. Otherwise, kill another novice, get Antonius to give you his dice, and hope that Kozliek believes that the dead novice really was Pious.
Thirdly, you can accept the offer and help Antonius with his plan, which involves getting the keys, and some blood. Sneak into the kitchen during mealtime or during the night and find the papers for the next days order - just add 'blood' to the list and collect it the following day. Get the key from the kitchen or pickpocket it from the Prior.
The next morning, sneak into the kitchen and pick up the goatskin filled with blood (which is on the table where the list was) and then speak to Antonius. He will tell you to meet him at the dormitory after evening mass, giving you one last day in the monastery. If you want to do anything else to interfere with the monk's election or tie up any other quests, best do it now. If you feel like pilfering the monastery of all its liturgical items, get to looting - they can be quite valuable.
After vespers, meet up with Antonius in the upper hall of the church, where you can stage the assassination. Then, the two of you will exit through the side door, sneak through the construction site, and end up outside the Monastery.
Henry and Pious flee the Monastery
But there are still more choices. Firstly - kill Antonius, take the dice, run like hell. This is easier than killing him inside the Monastery as you don't have to worry about escaping after.
Secondly, bring him to justice. You'll need to defeat him in a fist fight, at which point you will both travel to Rattay. You can pickpocket the dice from Antonius if you lockpick the door to his cell, otherwise, you need to sweet talk the bandits - not to mention get back to the Sasau Monastery to get your things back from the chest in the gatehouse.
Thirdly ... just let him go. Pious will thank "Brother Gregor" for giving him the chance to escape, and give you his strange dice to use as proof that you killed him.
Or if that sounds like too much work for you, sneak into (or back into, if you've been thrown out) the monastery, murder one of the novices, and try to convince Kozliek you got the right man. In any case, you're out, Pious is taken care of, and your monastic life of prayer, work, and obedience is over (finally).
Notes[]
- There is an Assassin's Creed Easter egg in this quest.
- Interestingly, Fake Blood from the No Rest for the Wicked quest won't work.
- There is a lockpick behind the altar of the church which you can get.
- You can also buy Lockpicks from Brother Cellarius. Speech check or intimidation check is required to get him not asking what you want them for. He will only accept food and potions to sell to him so either collect food from the kitchen or make more potions during the daily schedule with Brother Nevlas to sell to him.
- Padfoot potion may prove useful in picking locks and sneaking around. You can make it at the alchemy bench: cobwebs can be found in fratery and library bookcases, and there is eyebright growing in the cloister garden. The other ingredients are in the chest. Alternatively, Cockerel potion is easier to brew and alcoholic, allowing you to activate Luck of the Drunk at will.
- You can obtain the monastery key either by sneaking into the kitchen and find it on the rack, or by pickpocketing the Prior when he is sleeping at night. It is considered a quest item so you will not lose it even if you get 'jailed' for breaking the rules.
- If you want to have some of your inventory on the inside, such as money, lockpicks or Saviour schnapps, then assuming your lockpicking skill is high enough, or you obtain the monastery keys, you can sneak out at night, run back to the gatehouse and reclaim it. To proof it against possible confiscation, stash it in the fratery herb chest (but don't forget to grab it again before leaving!)
- There are a lot of bugs associated with this quest and the quest 'Wordly Goods' - specifically, you can ask Siskin about the stash and sneaking away from mass before you know about it. Merely talking to Siskin first means that 'Wordly Goods' auto-completes. However, in this case, the book Necronomicon II may fail to spawn.
- Similarly, triggering the quest Scattered pages by finding one and addressing it to Brother Librarian and then completing it will still allow for Henry's conversation topic "Can I assist you..." where Brother Librarian will again explain the lost Ovidius book and elicit Henry's help. The quest is not reactivated though and the conversation can be ignored
- You will need to meet all four novices before you can question them about each other fully.
- If you are planning on getting poisoned, you can skip to the next meal, but you mustn't skip past it.
- After the initial tour, you are left in the library (which you may have visited before during Restless Spirit). It is a good place to increase your Reading skill as there are many books here, although you must be careful as it is considered stealing to remove them from the shelves. However, as there is only one monk in the room, taking them, reading them, and then putting them back is quite easy.