Cold Steel, Hot Blood

This article needs more images

You can help by adding some relevant images or discussing changes on the talk page.
Please remove this template when images are added.

Note: Please remember to follow our image policy in naming before adding images.

Cold Steel, Hot Blood is the twenty-sixth main quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. After building the trebuchet in the quest Siege by completing Rocketeer, a cutscene sequence will trigger and automatically begin this quest.

Background

A messenger galloped into Talmberg with a report that Istvan's reinforcements are approaching. A battle seems inevitable.

Simple walkthrough

• Find out from Sir Divish what role you have in defence.
  • When you're ready, go to battle.
    • Hold.
      • Defend the ford!
        • Help Sir Hanush.

Detailed walkthrough

After an initial test fire of the trebuchet as a part of Siege, a Talmberg messenger rushes in out of breath. He tells the camp that an army is on route, bearing the colors of Havel Medek of Valdek. Since Havel is an old enemy of Sir Divish, it is clear that his men are coming as reinforcements for Sir Istvan, no doubt looking to encircle Divish's army while they are unprepared.

The lords then gather to plan a strategy, realizing that Havel's men are so close they are likely to arrive by dawn. Divish and Sir Radzig's men will make a stand at the bridge between Talmberg and Rovna. Sir Hanush is to wait until Havel's men charge before striking from the rear in two different places [see notes]. Meanwhile, Sir Bernard is to protect the encampments in case Istvan's men sally out for the trebuchet.

After the cutscene, Henry questions Divish about his part in the battle, stating that he wanted to go with the Skalitz men. Divish responds that he would actually like Henry to lead them, since he is someone they can look up to. Henry is to go to the woods above the road to Rattay [see notes], where he and the Skalitz men will remain concealed. He is to keep nervous men in line until the last moment, when they are to storm the enemy rear quickly and fiercely.

Crushing Havel's men

When the player approaches the Talmberg bridge, the scene will skip forward to the day of the battle. Henry will be locked in place with the Skalitz men, as they observe Havel's well armored host approach for a crossing. One of Havel's commanders shouts in frustration that they have been intercepted, and commands their army to split up: the first group will attempt to storm the bridge, while a vanguard heads to their left. The rest will come with him to flank the defenders by crossing the ford. Unfortunately for them, that is exactly where Henry and the Skalitz men are waiting, and the battle commences with the player leading the Skalitz men to defend the ford.

Havel's men put up a tough fight, but are eventually ground down by the Skalitz men. Meanwhile, their vanguard is defeated by Divish's men, though the group at the bridge manages to break through the Rattay men's blockade. At this point, the player must join the Skalitz and Talmberg forces in aiding Sir Hanush across the bridge. The allied army quickly mops up the overstretched remnants of Havel's army, and a cutscene reveals their capture of this last group's commander.

Henry recognizes the man as Erik, who he previously met in Vranik during The Die is Cast, and who is Istvan's right-hand man. Divish is relieved that they have caught such a valuable hostage, but Robard appears in a panic with news that the enemy has sallied out to destroy their trebuchet. This will automatically end this quest while beginning the quest Family Values.

Strategies

• Havel's men attacking the ford will prioritize the Skalitz men over the player. They can easily be flanked and attacked from behind, with archery being especially effective.
• If the player takes long enough to defeat the men at the ford, Divish's men will finish dealing with the vanguard and head over to reinforce the Skalitz men.

Notes

• This quest and Family Values have numerous continuity errors, likely due to rushed development:
  • Despite Divish's proposal that the Talmberg and Skalitz men hold the bridge, while the Rattay men flank, the opposite battle plan is carried out.
  • Divish mistakenly notes that the Skalitz men will be mustering on the road to Rattay, but this road actually leads to Rovna and then to Skalitz. The main road from Talmberg to Rattay is in the direction of the Talmberg windmill.
  • Despite accompanying Divish and the rest of the Talmberg men, Robard rushes in seemingly from a distance when he warns about the attack on the trebuchet. There are no other messengers on the scene who could have informed him before he passed on the alert.