Where Misery Gathers

Overview

Where Misery Gathers is the seventh main quest in Chapter 2: Golden Greed. After liberating Springtide Mill from the Bleed Bandits, Kliff checks the village notice board. The board is covered with complaints from locals dealing with stolen livestock, missing animals, and strange noises from a nearby cave. Reading these four notices unlocks a set of investigation quests that can be completed in any order.

Quest Details

Walkthrough

Visit the Notice Board

Head to the notice board at Springtide Mill. It is on the right side of the main area. An NPC explains that this is where villagers post requests for help. The board displays four flyers, each describing a different local crisis.

Examine the Four Posters

Pick up and read each flyer using Square/X, then L1/LB to examine it:

Unlocked Quests

All four investigation quests become available simultaneously. You can tackle them in any order. Each quest involves traveling to a different part of the Hernand countryside, investigating the problem, and dealing with the bandits responsible. Completing all four is required to unlock The Dark Veil, which advances the main story.

• Trial After Trial: Farmer Bremer's cattle have gone missing. Investigate the bandit camp at Anvil Riverside.

• The Man Trapped in the Mire: Rancher Ibano's goat horns have been stolen. Track the thieves east toward the river.

• Missing Companion: A child named Willian has lost his sheep, Wooly. Search the bandit camp south of Bloomwood Ranch.

• Secrets Hidden in the Dark: Strange noises are coming from a cave. Find the Greymane named Boris and investigate Specter's Hideout.

Notes

• This is another short quest with no combat. Its purpose is to branch the main story into four parallel objectives.

• The four investigation quests all reward Hernandian Contribution XP and inventory expansion items. Doing all of them before The Dark Veil is mandatory, so there is no benefit to skipping any.

• Each of the four quests involves using the Visione helmet and lantern to read memory fragments. Make sure both items are in your inventory before heading out.

Notice Board Interaction

The notice board stands on the right side of Springtide Mill's main area. An NPC near the board explains that villagers post requests for help here. Each of the four flyers needs to be examined individually: interact with Square/X to pick up the flyer, then hold L1/LB to read it. Simply looking at the board is not enough; you must read each poster to register the corresponding quest objective.

Make sure to interact with this specific notice board at Springtide Mill. Other notice boards in the region do not trigger these quest updates.

Investigation Quest Previews

Recommended Quest Order

All four quests can be completed in any order, but experienced players recommend starting with Trial After Trial or The Man Trapped in the Mire because they are closer to Springtide Mill and involve straightforward combat encounters. Save Secrets Hidden in the Dark for last because it has a cave dungeon and a tougher fight. Missing Companion falls somewhere in the middle in terms of difficulty.

Preparation Checklist

Before heading out on the investigation quests, make sure you have:

• The Visione helmet in your inventory (obtained during Memory Fragment)

• A lantern equipped (required for tracking memory fragments in the field)

• Sufficient healing items (at least 10 cooked food items recommended)

• Repaired weapons and armor (use the anvil and sharpening wheel at Springtide Mill)

Unlocking The Dark Veil

Completing all four investigation quests is mandatory to unlock The Dark Veil, which advances the main story past the Hernand in Chaos sub-chapter. There is no benefit to skipping any of the four, and each one rewards Hernandian Contribution XP along with inventory expansion items. Doing all four in a row is efficient because they are all within riding distance of Springtide Mill.