All that Glisters
This article or following section is likely to contain spoilers! Please proceed with caution.All that Glisters is the sixteenth main quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It starts after the talk with Sir Radzig near Talmberg, and largely takes part in Sasau. This quest is also intertwined with the side quests Damsel in Distress and Rattled.
It is recommended to bring lockpicks and a spade.
Background
I found quite a pile of Groschen in the Pribyslavitz encampment, which Master Engineer Feyfar subsequently discovered to be fakes. Not only is that a capital crime against the Crown, but it's also proof that there's more going on around Rattay than meets the eye.
Simple walkthrough
If the player did not interrogate the captive bandit, there are additional steps to get the required information
- Find the German knight at the Sasau Inn.
- Go to the junction to the north of Rovna
If the player interrogated the captive bandit, the quest catches up here:
- Go to the place where the counterfeit money is handed over.
- Explore the crossroads by Rovna.
- Follow the trail of blood from the ambushed wagon.
- Find out what happened with the wagon.
- Talk to Borya
- Talk to the wounded man.
- Talk to Borya
- Catch the mystery knight.
- Search the body of the knight
- Give Tobias Feyfar the documents the knight was carrying
- Search the body of the knight
- Lie in wait for the mysterious knight.
- Meet with the mysterious Knight by the pond in Sasau.
- Engage in a duel with the mysterious knight
- Meet with the mysterious Knight by the pond in Sasau.
- Find out what happened with the wagon.
- Follow the trail of blood from the ambushed wagon.
- Explore the crossroads by Rovna.
- Find out who in Sasau works with copper.
- Go and speak with Master Feyfar.
- Find out where the counterfeiters get the quicksilver.
- (Optional) Speak with Ulrich.
- Talk to the master fresco painter.
- Continue the investigation in the Overseer's office.
- Check out the place where the materials are handed over
- Go and speak with Master Feyfar
- Continue the investigation in the Overseer's office.
- Talk to the master fresco painter.
- Find the entrance to the mineshaft in the Skalitz hills.
- Find the counterfeiters' workshop.
- Arrest Jezhek of Ronow.
- Return to Rattay and speak with Radzig Kobyla.
- Question Jezhek of Ronow.
- Get the keys to Jezhek’s cell from Bernard (0/1)
- Report to Sir Radzig.
- Return to Rattay and speak with Radzig Kobyla.
- Arrest Jezhek of Ronow.
- Find the counterfeiters' workshop.
Detailed walkthrough
The start of this quest depends on how the player finished Questions and Answers. If the player did not interrogate the captive bandit, they must first head to Sasau and speak to the innkeeper of the Wagoner's Inn about the mysterious knight mentioned in the letter. As it turns out, he has been staying at the inn and paying his bills, but the Innkeeper is still nervous about his client. He does not know the knight's name or his colors, but he does remember the knight asking for directions to a crossroad near Rovna.
Investigating the Rovna crossroads
If the player managed to interrogate the captive bandit, the quest begins here. In this case, Henry previously learned from the bandit prisoner that he is due to meet a merchant named Menhart at the crossroads near Rovna. Travel to Rovna and go to the crossroads, where there will be an overturned cart with two dead guards and a very hard chest. Henry may examine the cart, the charcoal, and the blood for some additional dialogue. Additionally, the blood and charcoal will leave a trail along the left-hand path towards a charcoal burner's camp.
Interrogating the charcoal burners
Head in the camp and ask around. The charcoal burners will all deny knowing anything about what happened, but if successfully persuaded, they will direct the player towards their boss Borya, who is deeper in the camp across the river. Borya will also deny knowing anything, so the player must also persuade him to tell the truth.
There, behind one of the sheds, Henry can find two bloodstained bags. Take a closer look to confirm they are full of charcoal. Borya will also claim not to know what is going on, so the player must convince him to tell the truth.
Eventually, Borya tells Henry that the charcoal burners did not ambush the cart, they merely found and looted it after it was ambushed. They also found a wounded man, who they hid away in a nearby shed after he bribed them to keep him safe. Henry insists that he must see the wounded man and does not intend to hurt him, so Borya agrees to give him Borya's key. If the player wishes to bypass Borya however, they may simply break into the mercenary's shed by lockpicking the door.
Inside the shed, the mercenary will tell Henry that he was hired by Menhart to guard his wagon, but they were attacked by a knight. Henry's interrogation is eventually interrupted by a commotion outside - the knight has arrived, demanding Borya to hand over the sack of coins he looted from the wagon. The mercenary identifies this knight as the one who attacked the wagon, and when Henry confronts him, the mysterious knight flees the scene.
Chasing the mysterious knight
The knight will immediately flee on his horse, so be quick to catch him. If the player succeeds at this, they may kill him in combat or beat him into submission. In the case the knight is killed, the player must loot his documents for further investigation. Otherwise, if he is allowed to surrender, Henry will be able to demand the information by talking to him.
If the player fails to catch up to the knight however, he will continue to ride to the Sasau Wagoner's Inn, so the player may find him and confront him there. The knight will agree to meet Henry by the pond after sunset (21:00), and apologize for what he is about to do - silence Henry forever. This will force the player into a fight, where again they may kill him or beat him into surrendering and talking.
In either case, if Henry did not kill the older knight, the two eventually work out that they are not enemies. In fact, they are both pursuing the same people - counterfeiters active in Sasau. The knight will introduce himself as Ulrich of Passau, but refuses to share any information about who he works for, just that he is investigating the counterfeit coins on behalf of his master, who trusts him absolutely.
Ulrich offers Henry a deal - deliver his documents to Master Tobias Feyfar, and he will share everything he knows about the situation. Master Feyfar is the only one who can decipher the technical language and help them find out who is behind the forgeries. Speak to Ulrich further and he will reveal that he chased down Menhart, who fell from his horse and died, thus removing a key lead for both of them. Ulrich then buried Menhart's body, then headed back to the Rovna charcoal-burner's camp to recover the coins.
Returning to Master Feyfar
In any case, Ulrich has reason to believe that the fake coins are being made in the monastery, so he decides to return to the Wagoner's Inn, while Henry goes to see Tobias Feyfar. If Ulrich was previously killed, Henry must see Feyfar regardless to make sense of Ulrich's documents. In either scenario, Feyfar is able to recognize that the documents were penned by Clement of Kaplitz, scribe of the Rosenbergs - whose head, Henry III, is a rival of King Wenceslas.
From the documents, he further learns that the coins are made from a silver amalgam over a copper base. Feyfar then bids Henry to go back to Sasau and investigate the forges for both of these materials. In addition to finding the source of quicksilver, the player must determine who is working with large quantities of copper.
Return to Sasau to continue the investigation. There the player will have the option to report to Ulrich, if he is still alive. If he is updated, Ulrich will help to narrow down the search. For quicksilver, there is a Fresco Master in town who is awaiting a shipment of quicksilver from the monastery. For copper, many neighbors of the Sasau blacksmith have been complaining that he works all night long.
Source of quicksilver
The Fresco Master is also staying at the Sasau Wagoner's Inn, so he is the more convenient lead to investigate first. He will reveal that he has been unable to source quicksilver for over a month - according to the Overseer and his Hand, the goods have consistently been lost or stolen en route. The Master is suspicious that such valuable material can keep disappearing, as he cannot continue his work without it.
With this new lead, head over to the Monastery and find the Overseer's office. The Overseer will not provide useful information, but his Hand can be persuaded to confess what he knows. The Hand will reveal that he was approached by a knight named Sir Jezhek of Ronow and his lackey Rapota, who demanded that he supply them with all the quicksilver. When their bribes did not work, they resorted to threats. Since then, the Hand was instructed to leave the quicksilver for them at a designated spot, or they would reveal to his employers that he had been stealing, a crime that would lose him his job and earn him a beating.
Go to where the Overseer's Hand said the quicksilver was handed over. There, the player will find two bandits who deny knowing Rapota. If successfully persuaded, they will admit they are being paid to oversee a wagon delivery and ensure nothing is stolen. Additionally, Rapota is hanging around town keeping an eye on someone. A second successful persuasion will let Henry convince the bandits Rapota has already fled, which will cause them to leave as well.
Alternatively, if the player does not care to investigate the Hand's lead, they may share this information with Ulrich, who will head over and kill the bandits on his own.
Finding the copper worker
Next, start investigating the copper. While it is clear one blacksmith in town must be working on it, Ulrich does not know which one is responsible, and there are three in total. Speak to the blacksmiths in sequence and ask them about the others in town. All will deny working with copper, but Blacksmith Mikesh and Armourer Ota Rabstein will both say that Blacksmith Zach at the Monastery does. Not only that, he recently bought up all the local stores.
Zach will still deny purchasing any copper even if the other smiths' testimony is brought up, so the player must get his confession some other way. The first option is to speak to Zach's son Vitus. Vitus will also deny working with copper at first, but unlike his father, he may be persuaded to tell the truth with a successful stat check or beating him into submission. In this case, Vitus will confess to making copper sheets at night, though he denies knowing what they were for, and begs Henry not to hurt his father.
A second option is to break into the shed right behind the smithy. Inside the shed, Henry can find Zach's merchant chest, and more importantly, his copper stores, direct evidence that he is working with copper. The door to the shed has a Very Hard lock however, and breaking in will require waiting for Zach and Vitus to leave the vicinity.
If all else fails, the player can return to the smithy between 02:00 and 05:00, based on Ulrich's previous note about the smith working late at night. Sure enough, Henry will encounter Zach and Vitus still at work, and he may confront Zach about working at night and on what clearly smells like copper.
However the player secures Zach's confession, he will admit that he has been working copper for some suspicious types, though he still refuses to divulge all that he knows right away due to the money he will lose. Instead, Zach will ask for Henry's help in the quest Rattled before he provides more information, though the player may skip this step with a successful persuasion. Whether the player finishes Rattled to gain his trust or persuades Zach right away, he confirms that he was hired by Rapota and working for the counterfeiters.
The Sasau engravers
With both materials thoroughly investigated, find Master Feyfar and update him on the situation. By now, he will be lodging with the Sasau Scribe, dressed like a peasant to avoid suspicion. Feyfar will also update Henry that the coins must also require a punch-die for fabrication. Since this is a sophisticated piece of equipment, he advises Henry to speak to his friend Master Jerome, a skilled engraver. However, Feyfar also discourages Henry from letting Jerome know about the investigation, or that Feyfar sent him.
Jerome will complain that his assistant Florian has refused to show up to work. Florian claims he has caught the plague, though Jerome suspects he is just hungover. He further mentions that Florian has become rather paranoid recently, and was also attacked by the local Bathmadam- something to do with one of her bathmaids, Esther. He will then ask why Henry is interested in Florian's whereabouts, though all dialogue options will maintain Henry's cover.
Once done with Jerome, return to town and seek both the Bathmadam and Florian. The Bathmadam will reveal that a man kidnapped Esther, and that he warned Florian to cooperate if he wants her returned. Meanwhile, Florian may be found in the local Bakery's cellar, clearly not suffering from the plague. At first he denies all involvement, but eventually confesses that the bandits have kidnapped Esther and are holding her prisoner to ensure his cooperation. Since he is deeply concerned for Esther's safety, Florian will refuse to share more information with Henry until she is safe. Henry can promise to save Esther, launching Damsel in Distress, or skip this quest by passing a Speech or Charisma check.
If the player manages to force one of Esther's kidnappers to surrender during Damsel in Distress, they may also question them to learn about a second, easier entrance into the counterfeiter's workshop. If however they fail this quest, Florian will be devastated, but still agree to help since there is nothing more to be done.
In any case, once Florian agrees to share, he will tell Henry that Sir Jezhek and Rapota previously attempted to recruit him, only to kidnap Esther when he initially refused. Since then, Rapota has been stalking Florian to ensure his cooperation, only occasionally going to the Tavern on the Green for supplies. Henry convinces Florian to return to work the next day, so they may lure out Rapota where Henry can catch him.
Catching Rapota
With the trap laid out, confront Rapota. When Florian is at home, Rapota will be leaning against one of the various buildings around the town square, and when the apprentice is at work, he will be loitering outside the north-east corner of the building. Rapota will flee once Henry makes it clear he knows what the bandit is up to. Either stop him for questioning, or track him to the camp where the counterfeit coin was handed over.
Once caught, Rapota will confirm that the counterfeit workshop is in Skalitz, and that he is working for Sir Jezhek, who he believes is taking orders from an unknown Hungarian nobleman. Rapota confesses that he does not wish to hang and begs for Henry to finish him off. Henry can either agree to end his life quickly, arrest him, or let him go.
Storming the counterfeiters' lair
Now that all leads have been investigated, Henry must enter the counterfeiters' workshop to arrest Sir Jezhek. If Ulrich is still alive and the player wants some help, they may return to the inn and recruit his help.
If the player takes the main entrance, there will be several bandits that will need to be dealt with. On the other hand, the secret back entrance is completely unguarded. Whichever entrance the player takes, they must proceed deeper into the tunnel by following the chalk arrows on the wall. At the bottom, Jezhek of Ronow and some workers are busy making more coins.
If Ulrich accompanied the player, he will strike at Jezhek and prepare to kill him before Henry intervenes. Apparently, Ulrich has been given orders to make sure Jezhek does not fall into the wrong hands, especially Radzig's. At this point, Henry must either convince Ulrich to stand down, or fight him to the death if persuasion fails. In either case, Henry will be able to arrest Jezhek by force.
If Ulrich did not accompany the player, Henry must either convince Jezhek to submit peacefully, or beat him into submission to arrest him by force.
Negotiating with Jezhek
Regardless of how Henry arrests Jezhek, Master Feyfar will take over and send the forger to Rattay's jail. Return there when ready and speak to Sir Radzig for an update. According to him, Jezhek will only speak to Henry. Although Radzig is tempted to just allow Captain Bernard to beat the truth out of the prisoner, he decides to give in to Jezhek's demands. Retrieve the key from Bernard and enter Jezhek's cell to negotiate with him.
Jezhek will tell Henry everything he needed to know. He found himself deprived of his birthright and was recruited to create counterfeit coins by a foreign man named Erik. Jezhek however scoffs at the idea that Erik was in charge, stating he is just a "naive young pup" following his Lord's command. He also reveals that a dignitary from the monastery is wrapped up in the whole affair, and requests that Henry ask for clemency from Radzig on his behalf.
Radzig will be concerned when he learns that a monk might be involved. While he is a well-respected lord of the land, his status affords him no authority over the Church nor its members. He thus instructs Henry to return to Sasau to investigate and hopefully find Erik, beginning If You Can't Beat 'em.
Strategies
- When persuading the charcoal burners to lead the player to Borya, the Charisma option will always get them to share information, even though it is possible to fail the stat check.
- In the charcoal burners' camp, there will be two bloodstained bags behind one of the sheds near Borya. Inspecting these will allow the player to confront Borya with evidence that proves he is hiding the bandit, which will always succeed.
- Conveniently, that very shed is also the one holding the bandit.
- Failing a persuasion attempt on Borya will cause him to attack Henry. However, beating him into submission will allow the player to force him to confess what he knows.
- When Ulrich flees during his initial encounter with Henry, he will head south, circle around the charcoal burners' camp, and head north, before eventually turning west onto the main road between Skalitz and Rovna. This route takes him through the woods and can easily throw off a player who falls behind.
- Of the options to force Zach to confess he is working with copper, catching him late at night will always succeed and not require any stat checks. However, the player will still need a successful persuasion if they do not want to finish Rattled for Zach's information.
- When persuading the Overseer's Hand to confess what he knows, the Badassness option will always succeed.
- When Jerome asks why Henry is looking for Florian, the player may say that Florian owes them money. To compensate, Jerome will give Henry 250
docked from Florian's wages. - Ulrich and Jezhek both may only be persuaded with Speech, though Jezhek is easier to convince this way. Additionally, he is the far weaker opponent to defeat, having very light armor and no head protection at all.
- Jezhek's counterfeiters will not intervene in either fight.
Notes
- "All that glisters" is a reference to the idiom "all that glistens/glitters is not gold", from Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice." The phrase means that just because a thing looks precious or true, that does not make it so.
- Rapota may be observed stalking Florian even before progressing to that part of the quest. However, the player will not have the option to talk to him.
- While Ulrich may be spared during his first fight to gain more information, the player is free to kill him at any point later in the quest, or simply let him die when fighting the bandits outside the counterfeiters' workshop.
- Ulrich cannot be knocked out with stealth take downs, and his inventory cannot be accessed by the player unless he is dead. However, he may be pickpocketed.
- During the player's first conversation with Ulrich, he will mention that he buried Menhart in the northeast near a ruined cottage. If the player wishes to dig up Menhart's grave, they must go back to the crossroads and follow the right fork north-east until they reach the cottage. Sure enough, Menhart's grave is behind it, and contains a decorated sabre, 96.3 , a necklace and a silver ring.
- Rapota cannot be killed when he attempts to flee from Henry. Similarly, Jezhek cannot be killed when the player is attempting to arrest him by force.
- When speaking to Master Jerome, he will say that Florian bought a new lock for his chest, as if Jerome would bother to steal his belongings. Sure enough, Florian's chest is in the corner of the room and has a Very Hard lock.
- If the player manages to break into the chest, they will find the "Engraver's Documents" inside. Reading the documents will show diagrams of Groschen.
- Attempting to break into the chest stealthily is quite difficult. Both Jerome and Florian are protected during this quest, so they cannot be knocked out to maintain stealth.
- If Henry has read the letter carried by the Bandit Prisoner in Merhojed during Questions and Answers, he will know that the "dignitary at the monastery", implied by Jezhek, is most likely Sebastian vom Berg.
- If Henry pleads for clemency on Jezhek's behalf, Radzig will be upset that Henry overstepped his authority, but agree to hear out Jezhek later. This will not actually occur later in the game however.