Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Pestilence Guide
The Kingdom Come: Deliverance side quest Pestilence tasks the hero with curing a town fallen victim to a mysterious plague.
Players who have begun diving into some of the side quests in Kingdom Come: Deliverance are likely to stumble upon the mission titled Pestilence. As its name might imply, this quest involves the hero helping cure the inhabitants of the town of Merhojed. These beleaguered villagers and even their animal companions fell victim to a nasty illness following the events of the main quest Questions and Answers, and if the player is able to cook up the right potion within the allotted time, they'll unlock the game's Plague Doctor achievement and save the townsfolk, which is important for players who don't want to lose access to future side quests. Read on to learn everything players should know before diving into the Pestilence side quest.
Starting The Kingdom Come: Deliverance Pestilence Side Quest
Pestilence is kind of a tricky side quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance for two big reasons: not only does the hero have to come up with the correct antidote, he has to administer it to the villagers in leiu of Nicodemus coming up with his own solution. If either of these conditions aren't met, some or all of the villagers may die, and as a result any future quests they may have offered will become unavailable.
Before beginning the quest, players will want to be sure to learn they've learned the Reading skill and performed a reasonable amount of practice in alchemy. They'll also want to have a stash of Valerian and Thistle herbs prior to starting the quest, if at all possible, as speaking with Nicodemus to learn about the plague outbreak with remove the option to purchase those herbs from him for the duration of the quest.
The Pestilence quest will begin proper during the events of Question and Answers. Players who speak to a villager in Merhojed will learn about the sickness spreading through town, and the bailiff Melichar will offer to lend his services if the hero can help find a solution. Investigating the five houses in town should provide all the information players need to understand the illness, and speaking with Johanka at the monastery in Sasau will point the player toward Nicodemus, who will ultimately help Henry find the needed cure.
Understanding the Illness and Brewing the Cure
In the dialog with Nicodemus, the player needs to convey that the plague has affected about half of the villagers and all of the animals in Merhojed. If the player hasn't learned the Reading skill, they can describe the illness to Nicodemus as Fever, Stomach Pains, Diarrhea, and That's all. Nicodemus will come up with his own cure, but some of the villagers may die during the wait, and the Plague Doctor achievement will not pop. If the hero does have the Reading skill, choose the "Where do we start" option to continue the quest.
The next objective is to find the proper diagnosis using the mighty power of the written word. Pick up the book on the left side and read it a few times, then speak to Nicodemus again to have the player diagnose the villagers as being poisoned from water. After that, be sure to choose the "I can help" option to have the hero brew the cure himself; otherwise, the achievement will be locked and villagers may die. The potion itself is simple, requiring just one Valerian, one Charcoal, and two Thistle. Brewing the potion is the hard part, so here's the process:
• Head over the the Alchemy bench and turn to the page in the book containing the Merhojed Remedy.
• Place water into the cauldron, then place both Thistles directly into the water without using the mortar and pestle.
• Bring the water to a boil by using the bellows 4 times.
• Activate the sandglass, wait one turn, activate it a second time, then wait until the second turn is over.
• Place Valerian directly into the cauldron.
• Boil the solution again, making sure to stop using the bellows once bubbles can be seen.
• Use the sandglass to wait one turn; the bubbles should disappear.
• Allow the solution to cool by waiting until the flames disappear, then place Charcoal into the cauldron.
• Lasty, place the potion into a phial.
If done correctly, the player should see the objective displayed as completed. If not, the potion may have been brewed incorrectly, and players will likely want to load up an earlier save to try again.
With the potion in hand, players can begin to seek out the afflicted in Merhojed. The five villagers who need the cure are Daniel, Vincent, Bedrishka, the captive Bandit, and Straw's wife, the woman that Nicodemus is seeing over. The bandit will be the final NPC to receive the cure, as gaining access to him is part of the main Questions and Answers quest. With the other four cured, speak with Melichar again to toggle the next objective and cure the captive.
After that, players can wait around for a couple of days to find that the villagers have regained their health. Speaking to Melichar one last time will earn a the player message of gratitude and a small reward for their trouble, and once the conversation has ended, the Plague Doctor achievement should pop.
Keep on top of all the toughest quests in Warhorse Studio's latest RPG by heading over to our ever-expanding Kingdom Come: Deliverance walkthrough and guide.
