A Rock and a Hard Place

A Rock and a Hard Place
Information
Type	Side Quest
Quest Giver	Matthew
Location	Inn in the Glade
Progression
← Previous	Besmirched
→ Next	Concurrent: Gallows Brothers

A Rock and a Hard Place is a side quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, given to Henry by Matthew at the Inn in the Glade after completing the side quest Besmirched.

This is a timed quest.

Synopsis

Matthew and Fritz want to raid the quarry in Talmberg. It looks dangerous, but if we're successful we'll be rich!

Objectives

• Find out when they're going to transport the coin from Talmberg to the quarry.
• (Optional) Find a way to make sure as few guards as possible transport the money.
• (Optional) Help the Talmberg Stablemaster with his colicky horses, or poison them.

Walkthrough

After completing the side quest Besmirched, return to the Inn in the Glade and speak with Matthew. He, with Fritz in armor, will tell you about his plan to get rich fast. Matthew will tell you that the unpaid wages of the quarry workers are stored in Talmberg castle and will soon be transported to the quarry. Matthew and Fritz plan to steal the wages during the transfer. For now, you are told to gather information that will help in the raid. You also notice that Andrew, the innkeeper, is not involved in the plan.

There are multiple ways to complete this quest, several of them intertwined with the quest Gallows Brothers:

1. Complete the raid with your friends and violently rob the coin according to Matthew's plan.
2. Refuse to complete the raid and work with Andrew to betray your friends. To do so, speak with Andrew and start the quest Gallows Brothers, then betray Matthew and Fritz to the guards.
3. Take the coin while it is still stored in Talmberg castle, avoiding the violent raid. Optionally, to pin the blame for the theft on Andrew, speak with Andrew and start the quest Gallows Brothers, then report his thinking to Matthew and betray Andrew to the guards.
4. Keep all of the coin for yourself, becoming a true traitor. To do so, speak with Andrew and start the quest Gallows Brothers, then betray Andrew, Matthew, and Fritz to the guards. This will unlock the Judas achievement.
5. Take the coin while it is still stored in Talmberg castle and share it with your friends. This allows you to keep Matthew and Fritz alive and recruit them for Pribyslavitz in the DLC From the Ashes. This will unlock the Friends without benefits achievement. See below for details.

"Most Moral Choice"

If you wish to take the most "moral" approach to this quest without failing it — ensuring the quarrymen receive their pay (roleplaying, of course), rewarding Matthew and Fritz, avoiding any killings, and steering clear of bugs — follow these steps:

1. Speak to Matthew and accept the quest. Matthew will tell you to gather information that will help in the raid of the quarry.
2. Do not speak to Andrew so as to not start the quest Gallows Brothers.
3. Go to Talmberg castle and speak with the Talmberg stablemaster, who will mention the horses' illness and when the coin will be delivered to the quarry.
   1. (Optional) If you have a high enough Horsemanship skill (level 14 is sufficient), you can advise him on how to treat his horses without using potions.
   2. (Optional) After speaking with the stablemaster, you have the option to visit the local herbalist. After convincing or bribing her, you can then choose to either poison the horses (which reduces the number of guards) or heal them. To heal the horses, you'll need a Digestion potion. Bringing either the potion or the poison to the stablemaster will earn you a reward of 425 and Alchemy XP, although poisoning the horses isn't exactly "moral".
4. (Optional) Speak with Sir Robard. After a Charisma check, you can learn the details of the transport of the coin. After a Speech check, you can convince him to send fewer soldiers to guard the coin, completing the "fewer soldiers" objective.
5. Wait for Matthew and Fritz to arrive on the cliff overlooking the quarry and speak to Matthew. Go through the dialogue until you're given the option to either wait the 5 days with your friends or return later. Choose the option to come back later.
6. Return to Talmberg and climb the wooden stairs next to the stable, near the inner walls. Then, enter the private area inside the guard tower (not the one by the gate, which is the armory; enter in daytime to avoid encountering soldiers sleeping there). You'll find a Hard-locked chest near the ladder that contains the money for quarrymen.
7. Pick the lock of the chest and take the money (which will also add the empty sack from quarry to your inventory), but leave 3000 of your own inside (this does not affect the quest in any way, but is purely for roleplay purposes). You must take the money to complete the quest.
8. Return to Matthew and Fritz at the quarry overlook, and share the money with both of them.

Notes

• If you trained your lockpicking skills during the game's prologue in Skalitz, you can make things a bit easier by opening the chest with the quarrymen's money during your first visit to Talmberg in the prologue, ideally after Sir Robard wakes you and when all the guards are on the walls. This way, you can take the money immediately during this quest without needing to lockpick the chest again.
• This quest and the side quest Gallows Brothers are intertwined and contribute to the Judas achievement/trophy.

Bugs

• If you save the game while waiting for the guards to move to the quarry, then reload that save, the guards may become stuck and never reach the location. Waiting for their arrival as Matthew suggests results in an endless waiting wheel. The mission can still be completed by killing the guards and robbing them, but Matthew and Fritz will be bugged when they return to the inn. It is recommended to revert to a previous save before the waiting section begins.