Bastard of Kosigan: Exile of the West Walkthrough - Part V

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Prinzen Stadt, Köln: The City of Cologne, Part II

Chapter House

The Inquisition has taken over and based itself in the Bishop's Chapter House in the northeast of the city. Head over there and persuade the Elite Officer of the Inquisition to grant you audience with Cardinal de Las Casas, also known as The Grand Inquisitor (+200 Exp).

In the northernmost chamber, the library, you will find the Cardinal together with his inner circle of four Black Monks and Laetitia Gabrielli, Paladin of the Holy Guard of the Night. They will presumably constitute the five who will assist the Cardinal in his ritual.

I'm attempting to play both sides regarding the Cardinal-Witches rivalry, and I'm tempering what I say because my intention is to break the double game and side with the witches when push comes to shove. Therefore, I inform the Cardinal of the witches' location but I counsel him to hold off arresting them until they are all together, for the ritual (remember, I still haven't located Laura Stein, Gertrūd von Baum or Karen's replacement). Impressed with the info, the Cardinal requests that I keep him informed about the witches' ongoing activities (Quest: Working for Cardinal de Las Casas, +1,000 Exp, 5,000 GP). In addition, the Cardinal offers a kingly sum of 50,000 GP if I reveal to him where the witches will conduct their ritual.

I return to Yannia and inform her of my double game. She warns of the danger but also sees merit in the idea (+350 Exp).

Yannia reveals the location in which the ritual will take place: the Ancient Ruins beneath the Dark Grove (+500 Exp). This is the ruin we briefly explored after finding Karen's corpse.

I inform the Cardinal of the ritual's location and request a magical item in addition to the 50,000 GP promised. He hands over Cardinal de Las Casas' Amulet (Int +1, Improved Evasion, Negative Energy Ray [1], unlimited, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard only).

The Cardinal will now await news of the witches being assembled together for the ritual. He won't move against them until then.

Notes on the Chapter House:

• The Cardinal can be pick-pocketed for Clé de Las Casas (DC-20), but it doesn't open the chest in the library.. the hell?
• The armoire in the southeastern chamber contains the Robe of Cardinal de Las Casas (Armor Bonus +2, SR 16). The chamber and armoire are both trapped (DC-31/15).
• A locked bookshelf in the central-west chamber holds the Nicean Bible (DC-34), a quest item for Meredoc Sorn in the Low Quarter. The door to the chamber itself is locked and unbashable (DC-28). There are three traps on the floor (DC-22/22/36).
• A trapped and locked door in the northwest opens to a small circular chamber guarded by the Cardinal's pet Basilisk. Beware its game-ending DC-13 petrification gaze. The three finely-wrought chests hold random treasures.
• The eastern corridor can only be accessed when you return from the cellars (see next post).

Gotterdam Platz: Marketplace

You can trade with two merchants in the marketplace - actually, three now that Derich has returned to Cologne. One of the merchants sells the Boots of Speed, an item I never pass up on.

But what's this? In the center of the market square a degraded crowd has gathered around an Executioner and a Condemned Prisoner, Kurt Wagner.

You may remember Kurt was listed as "wanted" on the Inquisitor's Mission Orders. Well, it seems they found their man - and he is about to be beheaded! Show the Executioner Frederick's Seal and he will allow you to speak with Kurt, who you will learn has been falsely accused and is resigned to his fate. Snap him out of it and buy some time with the Executioner (+50 Exp).

March over to the Palace and implore Prince Karl to pardon "the demon with blur fur". The judicious Prince will agree to pardon Kurt if you can find three witnesses to support your claim that he is innocent.

March back over to the market and question the members of the crowd surrounding Kurt. Most of them are as thick as bricks, but you will find three witnesses amidst the rabble who can be reasoned with: A Man, A Woman and A Peasant. Shame them for keeping silent and order them to give testimony to the chamberlain in the Palace immediately (+300 Exp).

Return to the Palace once again and Prince Karl will have exonerated Kurt and hand you an envelope containing Kurt Wagner's Pardon, as promised (+200 Exp).

Give the Pardon to the Executioner and you will have saved Kurt's life. He will now leave Cologne, a free man.

Passage to the Low Quarter

Just southeast of Franzt's Place is a door leading to the Arcade Passage. There is nothing of interest here, just two merchants. Head through the southern door to arrive in the Low Quarters. There is an entrance to the sewers here and a roguish merchant who's set up shop in an alcove, Meredoc Sorn. He will buy stolen goods, like Kert's harp. I couldn't get the Nicean Bible quest from him, though (see Chapter House notes, above).

Ok, enter the Cozy Kitten and "conduct your business" with the voluptuous Hilda (-200 GP). Before you depart Frau Claudia will request you find one of her workers who has gone missing, Nina Mūguel (Quest: Find Nina Mūguel).

The girl in green is Tanya. Remember the Love Letter you found on the corpse at The Bridge of Saint Würz? Give it to Tanya (+150 Exp).

Take your leave of the Cozy Kitten and make your way back to Cologne-proper.

The Cathedral of Cologne

Head to the Cathedral and present Pietr's Letter to the Bishop of Cologne, Monsignor Heinrich von Ruhe (+500 Exp). Engage in a lengthy and informative discussion with him.

The Bishop holds a distaste for the Cardinal but, by order of the Pope, was forced to allow the Inquisition to operate from his Chapter House in Cologne. The Bishop also suspects the hunt for the witches in Cologne is a cover for what the Cardinal is really up to, but he doesn't know what (i.e, the ritual). Support the Bishop's suspicion by telling him what you learned from Rodrigo (+100 Exp). You will need at least 14 Int to recall the French Bishop's name (Monsignor de Castelnau, +100 Exp).

Next, ask the Bishop about Pietr. You will learn he's wanted by the Inquisition for stealing a book of black magic from the Cardinal (+150 Exp). Pietr brought the book to the Bishop but it wasn't solid proof the Cardinal was conducting demonic rituals (+100 Exp, Quest: Convincing the Inquisition to Leave). Ok, ask the Bishop about the accusation against Pietr, that he broke his vow of chastity. You will learn that he was denounced by Mathilda Sturmvein, his housekeeper; and that she's probably with the Cardinal (+100 Exp).

Next, ask about the Cardinal himself: he is violent and ambitious, has been accused of abuse, and there have been recent incidents reported concerning his dealings with children. If you ask Prince Karl about this you will learn that only one child went missing before the Cardinal's arrival in Cologne and ten more have gone missing since his arrival.

Now, remember that Rodrigo told you of Gertrūd's imprisonment in the Chapter House cellar. Request that the Bishop grant you unobtrusive access to the cellar. He will need "time" to think about it, but we can continue immediately as we've already completed The Missing Caravans quest. The Bishop will refer you to Maximilian Hunger, an architect who knows about a secret passageway leading from outside the Chapter House into its cellar (+300 Exp).

Ok, we've got ourselves three leads here but first lets continue the Help the Hermit quest and get that book!

As per the Bishop's referral, return to the Chapter House and you will find Mathilda housekeeping in the entrance chamber.

It seems she was was hung up on Pietr (+200 Exp) and he was subsequently bewitched by none other than Laura Stein, Willie's sister (+350 Exp). Take a gamble and ask her about the Cardinal (+200 Exp).

Return to the waterfall cave, tell Pietr you gave his letter to the Bishop, and pass on the Bishop's loose change to him (+500 Exp).

Persuade Pietr to reveal the location of the Cardinal's book: on the ground behind where you slew the bear. It is the Book of Demonic Rituals (Summon Creature VI [11], 5 charges/use Evil & Neutral only).

Probe him about Laura Stein; tell him she's a witch and open his eyes to the fact he was used by Laura in her attempt to have the Cardinal arrested (+200 Exp); then boost his morale for 250 more.

We must now find a new hiding place for Pietr!

Fast travel to the Abandoned Cabin and a message will pop up confirming this as a suitable place for Pietr to hide (+150 Exp). Return to pick up Pietr and bring him back to the cabin (Completed Quest: Help the Hermit, +1,500 Exp). At this point you may persuade Pietr to reveal that he is in fact the son of the Bishop (+350 Exp).

Return to the Bishop and inform him that Pietr has been safely relocated (+500 Exp). The Bishop will gift you "a magnificently-worked egg" (+200 Exp), the Placeholder for Storyline 4 (Spell Resistance [9], 1/day), and tell you if you're ever in Rome to seek out Cardinal Del Marco. It seems we may be going there in a future episode: All roads lead to Rome, as they say..

Architect, Maximilian Hunger

As per the Bishop's referral, skip across the road to the architect's home and lead Maximilian on by pretending you are in the market for a property. You will learn that Max last sold a house over a month ago, around the time the Inquisition arrived in Cologne. Mmm..

Persuade him to reveal more about the purchase and he will give you the buyer's name, the address of the property and what it sold for:

Luigi Bella Nova / Number 3 on the Street of the Black Horses / 250,000 GP, paid in cash (+100 Exp).

Haggle with Max to purchase the dilapidated forest cabin for 15,000 GP and he will give you the Property Deed (+100 Exp). Use strategy, base flattery and shameless sucking up to draw info from Max about the work he did on the Chapter House; then cap off your masterful performance by persuading him to reveal the exact location of the entrance to the passage leading into the cellar of the Chapter House:

Behind the old mill in the Eastern Suburbs of Cologne (Completed Quest: Miscellaneous Information about the Inquisition, Key to the Old Secret Passage, +600 Exp).

Note that in taking this tact, thanks to a broken dialogue thread, we were unable to learn about Max's daughter held in the cellar; however, we can still save her and be rewarded as normal (see next post).

Part VI: Prinzen Stadt, Köln: The City of Cologne, Part III.

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