Kingdom Come Deliverance: A Needle in a Haystack Kingdom Come Deliverance Guide & Walkthrough

Last update: 26 April 2024

A Needle in a Haystack is one of the most complex main quests in the Kingdom Comer: Deliverance game. During this quest Henry must infiltrate the Monastery of Saint Benedict while pretending to be a nobleman called Karl. The purpose of this visit is to locate Pious in order to kill or arrest him. The very stay in the monastery is quite problematic as Henry can easily be punished or thrown out of the order if he does not follow the rules imposed on all of the novices in the monastery. Below you can find information on how to identify and act with Pious, as well as how to avoid problems with the elders during the stay in the Sasau Monastery.

Note - this quest has an annoying error causing certain characters, such as Antony while you have to follow him, to block. Try not to get in the way of other people and check the map of the monastery to learn when a specific NPC was "teleported" a bit further.

• Introduction to the stay in the monastery
• Everyday Labours of the novice
• Consequences of breaking the monastery rules
• How to get the lockpick and the Monastery Key?
• Where is Pious
• First decision about the Pious
• Getting Pious out of the monastery
• Second decision about the Pious

Introduction to the stay in the monastery

After watching the scene in the chapel, you will be greeted by Novice Antonius, from whom you will receive the book called Everyday Labours (more on the plan of the day and the necessity to follow it can be found further in the chapter).

Antonius will offer Henry a tour around the monastery and will show him the most important places. It is worth to accept this offer if this is your first approach to the quest. Reaching specific places at specific times of day will be one of the requirements to meet in order to avoid getting into trouble. Once the "tour" ends, you can go to the dormitory for rest (prayers and work will begin on the next day) or you can immediately start exploring the monastery and meeting with characters that can be found in the area.

The most important places in the monastery (you will learn about them during the "tour" with Antonius) are:

1. Chapel - you will begin the quest in this location. Masses take place here twice a day - Henry must take part in them to avoid getting in trouble.
2. Dormitory - it can be found on the upper floor, near the chapel. Henry can go there and use any bed to rest - once it's done, the game will also be automatically saved.
3. Garden - it can be found in the central part of the monastery. Here you can meet with other novices, as well as characters offering side quests in the monastery.
4. Refectory - this is one of the rooms on the ground floor of the monastery. Henry must visit this place each day and complete tasks given to him by Brother Nevlas.
5. Library - it can be accessed by going through the stairs next to the dining room and it's located on the upper floor. Henry must visit the library each day and complete tasks received from Brother Librarian.
6. Dining Room - a large room located on the ground floor. Meals are consumed here twice a day.

Remaining locations in the monastery:

1. Basement - it can be reached through the same staircase that leads to the dormitory. There is a cellar here for novices who break the monastery rules. You can unlock one of the side quests here.
2. Kitchen and storage room - they are located right next to the dining room and Henry is not allowed to enter them. You can visit these places to complete some of the objectives of this mission. Additionally, the Monastery Key can be found in the storage room.
3. A room with an alchemy station - located right next to the refectory. Here you can find, among others, bandages, chest with herbs and an alchemy station required to complete Brother Nevlas' tasks.
4. Prior's room - located on the upper floor of the monastery, neighboring the library. This entire area is a forbidden zone, but you can explore it during the night. Additionally, Henry can rob the Prior to get the Monastery Key.

Everyday Labours of the novice

There is strict discipline in the Sasau Monastery and you must remember about it to avoid problems during your search for the Pious. Novices must strictly follow the daily schedule. You can check those by finding the book Everyday Labours in your inventory and opening it (as shown in the above screenshot), but it's not mandatory. Pay attention to the side quest In the Cloister from the hero's diary. The quest will be frequently updated and will inform you about your next duties. The quest remains active until you leave the monastery. Keep in mind that, depending on your decisions during this quest, you will spend from few hours to several days in the monastery - following the schedule of the day is a necessity.

The schedule is as follows:

3:00 - the beginning of the day. When using the bed, you don't have to set the wake up time exactly at this hour, as the first mandatory position on the plan starts at 4:00.

4:00 - Morning prayer. Head to the chapel. Henry will be joined by other character and together they will start praying (screenshot). You don't have to interact in any way. You can speed up the time if you don't have any additional activities to complete in the chapel. In the meantime, you shouldn't leave the chapel. If you want to explore other parts of the monastery during the morning prayer, make sure not to be seen by anyone. You can be punished for not coming to the chapel during the mass.

6:00 - Common meal. Go from the chapel to the dining room. You can sit at one of the tables and start eating, but this is an optional step. Don't leave the dining room or sneak into other areas to prevent Henry from being seen by other characters. Theoretically, Henry doesn't have access to the rooms neighboring the dining room (kitchen and storage room), but those are empty during the meal time, making it a perfect opportunity to explore them. Alternatively, you can go there during the night.

8:00 - Work in the refectory. Go from the dining room to the refectory and speak with Brother Nevlas. He will give you a task to complete. The task should be about creating potions, so just go to the next room. Collect the necessary herbs from the chest and interact with the alchemy station. Once the work is done or the time has elapsed, get back to Nevlas. He will evaluate Henry's work. Failing the task during the first day shouldn't have any consequences. However, failing in the following days can cause trouble. You can also get a reprimand from Nevlas if you don't show up at work at the specified time - if that happens, you should try to avoid contact with the man while traveling through the monastery.

12:00 - Work in the library. Go from the refectory to the library located on the upper floor and speak with Brother Librarian. He will give you tasks to complete. Those should be about rewriting books. Your task here is to select fragments of texts from the list that overlap with the book on the screen. The suggestions from the list are very similar to each other, which is why it's better not to hurry here. Once the work is done or the time has elapsed, get back to Librarian. He will evaluate Henry's work. Failing the task during the first day shouldn't have any consequences. However, failing in the following days can cause trouble. You can also get a reprimand from Librarian if you don't show up at work at the specified time - if that happens, you should try to avoid contact with the man while traveling through the monastery.

16:00 - Afternoon worship. Go from the library to the chapel and stay there during the adoration. You can once again help yourself by speeding up the time.

18:00 - Common supper. Go to the dining room. Just like before, you can sit at the table and eat a meal, look around the area (including the storage room) or speed up the time.

19:00 - Compline. This is free time for all of the monks. You should definitely use those two hours to visit places and locations you didn't have time for earlier (note - some of the areas are still off limits).

21:00 - Rest and nighttime curfew. Reach the dormitory on the upper floor (screenshot). You can use any of the beds located here. Note - you don't have to choose sleep here. Exploring the monastery during the night time is a perfect opportunity to sneak into the storage room, library or the prior's room. Watch out for lone monks and novices that you may encounter here. Stay away from all of them. If you have problems traveling in the dark, search the basement - you will find a torchlight in one of the containers there.

Consequences of breaking the monastery rules

During your stay in the monastery you should avoid causing any problems at all costs, because breaking the rules imposed on all of the novices might unnecessarily complicate the quest, or, in extreme cases, lead to a situation in which the protagonist is thrown out of the order. The most important this is to stick to the schedule from the book you've received from Antonius. Try to complete activities related to finding the Pious (and complete all side quests from the monastery) when you've already completed one of the tasks and have some free time. If, however, you still plan to ignore some of the responsibilities, you must avoid the monks who can stop Henry and punish him.

In addition, you should remember the following:

1. Henry doesn't have the right to enter many rooms in the monastery - when doing so a warning, which you should know from previous quests, will appear on the screen. Some of the rooms are unavailable during specific times of the day and some are off limits all the time (like the storage room and prior's room). If you're planning to search the forbidden locations, try not the get caught by others.

1. A slightly different category are screen warnings about breaking the daily schedule - such warning can be seen in the above screenshot. You can be punished, for instance, for "unlawfully" leaving the chapel during the mass (only if you are seen doing so). When in doubt, examine the book acquired from Antonius or check the hero's journal. In the description of the side quest In In the Cloister you will find information about the current time of the schedule, as well as the activities that Henry must perform.
2. In addition, as with the rest of the game, you might get into trouble if you are caught using lockpicks, relying on pickpocketing or attacking other characters.

If Henry commits a crime that gets recorded, he might be detained by Stibor or one of the remaining monks. This meeting has several different outcomes.

1. Reminder - you can be reprimanded if you have committed a minor offense and if it's your first or second incident. You will be able to continue the game after the conversation.
2. Reprimand - you can get a reprimand if you've committed a serious offense. There are two solutions here. The first one is to use persuasion, but in most cases it has to be very high here (15 or more points) for the effort to end in a success. The second one is to willingly surrender to punishment. Henry will end up in isolation cell and will spend 1-2 days there(it functions similarly to prison).
3. Getting thrown out of the order - this can happen if you've received reprimands several times, or if you are aggressive after getting arrested. The quest will be canceled and Henry will land outside of the monastery. If that happens, you should just reload an earlier save. Otherwise, if you plan on capturing the Pious, you would need to break into the monastery and act from the shadows.

Side note - once you find the Pious in the monastery, you will probably be concerned about completing tasks associated with freeing or murdering the man. If you plan on committing offenses, you should save the game often (by using the bed in the dormitory) and use the option to speed up time when in places where Henry can't be seen by anyone (like, for instance, on the balcony in the dormitory or in the storage room). Hiding in those places during the day will help you avoid meetings involving getting a reprimand and/or punishment.

How to get the lockpick and the Monastery Key?

A lockpick or a Monastery Key might significantly help you when moving around the entire monastery. Thanks to them you can, for instance, open all of the exit doors from the monastery. You can collect those items immediately, or after identifying the Pious - the second option will allow you to minimize the chances of losing the items in the event of getting caught and searched.

The first method to get the lockpick is to stay in the chapel where the quest begins. Examine the altar from picture 1. The lockpick is hidden behind it and it can be seen in the 2nd picture.

The second way to acquire the lockpicks is to meet with Brother Cellarius to ask him about the item. Use persuasion (Cellarius has 10 points) or intimidation (4 points) to not have to answer the question why you need the lockpicks. Cellarius offers lockpicks for sale, but he demands about 20 groschen for each and in return he only accepts food. You would have to search the whole monastery (cellars and the storeroom) in search of a large amount of food to put up for sale.

The problem with having no money that can be spend on buying lockpicks from Brother Cellarius can be solved by finding Siskin's hidden stash (he is one of the novices). Go to the dormitory (the room with beds on the upper floor) and reach the balcony. Find the movable plate. One of the things that you can find there are 200 Groschen. You can get 10 or even more lockpicks for that.

The first method to get the Monastery Key is to search the storeroom adjacent to the dining room. It's best to do this when the meals are served (the kitchen and the storeroom are empty during that time) or during the night. Reach the last room of the storage room. The key is lying on the shelf shown in the above screenshot, in a dimly lit place.

The second method to get the Monastery Key is to steal from the prior. Using pickpocketing on him during the night would be very risky. It's better to wait for the night. Sneak into the library on the upper floor (screenshot 1) and explore the neighboring rooms. The door to Prior's room are locked with a hard lock. Try to open them and examine the adjacent rooms. Prior can be found in the place from the second screenshot. It's better to choke him when he's sleeping - this will allow you to safely examine his inventory and acquire the key.

Where is Pious

Henry suspects, that the Pious is one of the novices in the monastery. You can conduct a full investigation and speak with all of the novices, but it's not a necessity to complete this quest.

After initiating conversation with a novice, you can ask him a number of standard questions and confess that you're a "spy". The last option is not recommended, because you can get into serious trouble. Novices can report Henry to the Prior which will result in a confrontation with the man (as shown in the above screenshot). The game will allow you to defend yourself with unique dialogue options - you will have the biggest chance of success with intimidation. Unfortunately, even if you are successful, you will still end up in the isolation cell for the duration of the investigation. You can be then expelled from the monastery and even attacked, when Karol's father (Karol is the young nobleman who Henry pretends to be) arrives at the scene.

You can also try to sneak into Prior's private chambers located on the upper floor. They are next to the library and you should get there during a night. Open the locked door in the library (they have a hard lock) and enter the private area. Stop in the room with four chairs presented in the picture above. Approach the lectern at the opposite end of the room and open the book. Inside you can find everything about the novices. However, these notes don't contain any obvious trails that will let you expose Pious.

The steps described above (speaking with novices, reaching the notes about them) are optional and can be skipped. You won't lose anything.

The Pious you're looking for is the novice Antonius, the man you've met with at the beginning of this quest. If you want to, you can search Antonius' quarters before speaking with the man to find a chest (above screenshot). The chest is protected by a difficult lock and hides, among others, a dagger. Finding this weapon will seem suspicious to Henry (the dagger can then be used on Antonius).

Speak with Antonius again. During the conversation, you can confess to him about your mission, about the fact that you've infiltrated the monastery in search of the Pious. End the conversation for now.

You must now advance in the schedule of the day to the point in which Henry goes to the dining room to eat (either in the morning or in the evening hours). Sit at the table and start eating your meal. Don't leave the table too early. Try to stay there for 2 in-game hours, until the next position from the schedule begins. After leaving the table you will be informed that Henry was poisoned (above screenshot). Don't react to it in any way - let the protagonist lose consciousness.

First decision about the Pious

You will wake up in the dormitory and will learn that Antonius/Pious is the one who poisoned Henry. This is the first important moment in which you can decide how you will behave with the man. You can:

1. Attack Antonius immediately. You will engage him in a fistfight that will be more difficult due to the weakened status of the protagonist. If, however, you win the duel, Pious will die and you will complete the quest. You now need to leave the monastery - use the lockpick / Monastery Key on any exit doors, or commit an offense and let the monks throw you out of the order.
2. Agree to Antonius' plan. He plans to escape from the monastery, but he first needs to fake his own death. Antonius will give you a healing potion and an antidote (use the antidote immediately to get rid of the poison).
3. Initially, agree to Antonius's plan and then kill him. Once you agree to help him escape the monastery (and you will receive both potions), wait until Antonius goes to rest. Find the place where he sleeps and use the dagger you've collected from his chest to kill the man(a dagger can be taken out from Antonius' chest or from Siskin's hidden stash located on the dormitory's balcony - Worldly Goods side quest). The Pious will be murdered and you will complete the quest. You now need to leave the monastery - use the lockpick / Monastery Key on any exit doors, or commit an offense and let the monks throw you out of the order.

Note - Try to complete the remaining side quests before you decide to leave the monastery. Their list and walkthroughs can be found in the chapter dedicated to the side quests.

Getting Pious out of the monastery

This part of the description refers only to the second method mentioned above. Once you've identified the Pious, you had to promise him to help him fake his own death and get out of the monastery.

The first task is to get the lockpick or a Monastery Key. Go to the previous description where the circumstances of obtaining the item were given. The easiest way is to collect the lockpick hidden behind the altar in the chapel.

The second task is to get fresh animal blood. In order to do so, you must sneak into the kitchen neighboring the monastery dining room. This is best done during the meal serving time or during the night. Find the sheet of paper shown in the 1st screenshot and interact with it to place an order. You now have to wait 24 hours. It's best to hide in the storage room (as no one checks it) and speed up the time. Once 24 hours has passed, get back to the same place and collect Goatskin filled with blood (2nd screenshot).

Now go with the lockpick / Monastery Key and blood to Antonius. If there's a risk of being detected, it's best to wait for the nighttime and sneak into the dormitory. Wake up the sleeping Antonius and tell him that you've collected all of the items.

You must now meet with Antonius in the dormitory after the evening mass, exactly at 18:00. Get to the balcony neighboring the room with the beds, stand somewhere in the corner and speed up the time. Once it's 18:00, find Antonius (screenshot). A cut-scene of blood spilling will initiate. Follow the Pious now. You will reach one of the exits from the monastery and your companion will automatically use the lockpick / Monastery Key to open the doors.

Second decision about the Pious

If you helped Pious / Antonius in faking his own death and if you escaped together from the monastery, you must decide about his future. A conversation will initiate, during which you can:

1. Let the Pious go. In return, Antonius will give you a Lucky Playing Die.
2. Arrest the Pious. He won't give up voluntarily, you will need to defeat him in a fistfight. Once you've won the duel, Antonius will be automatically placed in a cell.
3. Kill the Pious. In this case the duel with the man must end in his death. Once you're done, you can examine his corpse to find a Lucky Playing Die.