Trial After Trial

Overview

Trial After Trial is one of four investigation quests in Chapter 2: Golden Greed, unlocked by reading the "Missing Cows" poster during Where Misery Gathers. A farmer named Bremer has lost his cattle and needs Kliff's help figuring out what happened to them. The trail leads to a bandit camp at Anvil Riverside where Kliff uses the Visione helmet and a lantern to read a memory fragment revealing the truth.

Quest Details

Walkthrough

Speak with Bremer

Travel to the quest marker at Hernand Farmhouse, located northwest of Springtide Mill and south of Muckroot Ranch. Find Bremer, a man in a blue shirt sitting near the farmhouse. He is visibly distressed. Lock onto him and talk to learn about his missing cattle.

Talk to the Witness

Follow the new marker to find a Herbalist nearby. Speaking with him costs one copper coin. After the conversation, the Herbalist offers to lead you to the area where the cattle were taken.

Follow the Herbalist

Summon your horse and hold the follow button to trail the Herbalist as he rides to the Anvil Riverside bandit camp. The ride takes about a minute.

Clear the Bandit Camp

Defeat the bandits occupying the camp. You can lure enemies from the camp toward the road to fight on more favorable terrain, since the camp itself has tight spaces that make dodging harder. After clearing them out, look around for an anvil and sharpening wheel, both useful for repairing your gear before moving on.

Read the Memory Fragment

With the camp clear, equip your lantern and the Visione helmet. Aim the lantern at the blue ghost apparitions in the center of the camp. Track the memory fragments until you find and watch the one titled "The Missing Cow." The memory reveals that Bremer's cattle died under mysterious circumstances rather than being stolen. Collect the Palmar Pill from nearby and harvest any materials from the cow remains.

Return to Bremer

Ride back to Bremer at the farmhouse. Speak with him to relay what you found. The conversation wraps up the quest and awards your Silver and Contribution XP.

Notes

• The anvil and sharpening wheel at the bandit camp are worth using. Weapon and armor durability matters in the Hernand quests since you fight a lot of bandits in a short span.

• This is one of four quests that must be completed to unlock The Dark Veil. The other three are The Man Trapped in the Mire, Missing Companion, and Secrets Hidden in the Dark.

• The memory reading mechanic here is the same one introduced in the Memory Fragment quest. If you are having trouble activating it, hold Options and select the memory icon from the right sidebar.

Finding and Paying the Herbalist

The Herbalist witness is located south of Bremer's farmhouse, marked on your map after speaking with Bremer. When you talk to him, the conversation costs one copper coin. This is a small but easily overlooked cost. Make sure you have at least one copper coin before heading to the witness. After the conversation, the Herbalist offers to lead you on horseback to the bandit camp.

Horseback Chase

Summon your horse and hold the follow button to trail the Herbalist. The ride takes about a minute and passes through open countryside. Along the way, you may spot some of Bremer's escaped livestock on the road. These are environmental details and do not require interaction. Stay close to the Herbalist because he sets a brisk pace and takes a few turns off the main road.

Bandit Camp Combat Strategy

The Anvil Riverside bandit camp is a mid-sized encampment with roughly eight to ten bandits. The camp itself has tight spaces with tents and crates that make dodging difficult. A reliable strategy is to lure enemies toward the open road by engaging one or two at the camp's perimeter. Once they follow you to flatter terrain, you have room to dodge and use combos effectively.

After clearing the camp, look for an anvil and a sharpening wheel near the center of the camp. The anvil repairs armor durability and the sharpening wheel restores weapon sharpness. Both are free to use and are valuable given how many consecutive combat encounters the Hernand investigation quests involve.

Memory Reading Process

With the bandits defeated, equip the Visione helmet and your lantern. Aim the lantern at the blue ghost apparitions visible in the camp's center. The lantern highlights the memory trail, and tracking the fragments leads you to the one titled "The Missing Cow." The memory reveals that Bremer's cattle died from mysterious poisoning rather than being stolen by bandits.

If you have trouble activating the memory reader, hold Options/Menu and select the memory icon from the right sidebar. This is the quick method introduced during the Memory Fragment quest.

Reward Breakdown

Connection to Other Investigation Quests

Trial After Trial is one of four investigation quests required to progress to The Dark Veil. The other three are The Man Trapped in the Mire (Horn Thief poster), Missing Companion (Missing Wooly poster), and Secrets Hidden in the Dark (Strange Noises From the Cave poster). All four share the same structure: travel to a location, clear bandits, read a memory fragment with the Visione, and return to report your findings. They can be completed in any order.