You’ll get The Hunt Begins quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance, somewhat ironically, after the hunt with Lord Capon. The Hunt Begins is when the game finally takes off the training wheels, and it’s the beginning of the second major questline in the game. The Hunt Begins has you investigating a mysterious bandit raid on the horse trading town of Neuhof alongside Captain Benard, and there’s plenty of twists and turns waiting for you ahead. There are spoilers for Kingdom Come Deliverance below, so don’t read any further unless you don’t mind a bit of the story being given away.
Kingdom Come Deliverance The Hunt Begins: Report to Captain Benard and Ride to Neuhof
After you save Lord Capon from the Cuman, you’ll return to Rattay, and Sir Radzig will officially take you on as one of his men. You’re rewarded with your first horse, and as your first mission as one of Radzig’s soldiers, you’re asked to accompany Captain Benard and a detachment of troops to Neuhof where a brutal bandit raid has occurred.
To find Captain Bernard all you have to do is exit the castle and head into the courtyard. He’ll be standing alongside a group of horses. Once you speak with him, he’ll tell you to mount up and follow his entourage. There’s no way to get lost on the way to Neuhof unless you just try, but for the sake of completion, I’ll tell you how to get there. Just take the road from the eastern gate of Rattay and follow it until you can turn north. Then, just head north until you hit a village. That village is Neuhof.
Kingdom Come Deliverance The Hunt Begins: Scout the Area and Question the Survivors
When you reach Neuhof, you learn the extent of the carnage the bandits wrought on the small village. The leader of the village, Emil, was one of the first casualties and his wife Zora explains what’s odd about the raid. The bandits didn’t steal anything at all. Instead, they killed the very valuable horses, burned down the stables, and killed indiscriminately.
Since it was dark, and people were trying not to die, no one can point you in the direction the bandits went. It’s going to be up to you to piece together what happened at Neuhof, who the bandits were, where they went, and why they did it. After the conversation with Zora, Bernard will tell you to stay put. We’re going to show him how well Henry listens to directions by doing the exact opposite.
Scouting the area in The Hunt Begins quest involves doing quite a few things, but in general, it doesn’t matter too much what order you do them in. If you want to get it done as fast as possible, follow the walkthrough below.
Talk to Zora
Even though you just talked to the poor woman, you need to hit up Zora for some information again. Kingdom Come doesn’t require too much tact thankfully, and Zora won’t make you pass any persuasion checks to spill the beans. Listen to all her dialog choices, and when you’re done, she’ll be checked off your list.
Talk to Jakub
Near Zora, you’ll find Jakub. Jakub is sort of a jerk, but I guess that’s to be expected when you almost got killed. You can get him to talk further by doing a speech check or using your First Aid perk (if you have it) to examine his wound. Otherwise, he doesn’t want to have much to do with you.
Jakub isn’t overflowing with information, but he does mention that he did fight one of the bandits, so at least he’s not a suspected collaborator.
Follow the Blood Trail
Head out of the north entrance to the horse farm, and you’ll see a body. Inspect it, then start following the blood stain towards the pond. Just keep following the bloody tracks (which is something you’ll often do in Kingdom Come) until you reach the stables proper.
Talk to Mark
Near a wagon, in the center of the stables area, you’ll find Mark. Mark is shellshocked from all the violence and can’t stop crying. To get him to talk you’ll need to make a skill check. I found that my combat skill was much higher than anything else at the time, and when I told him, I’d make the bandits pay he opened up.
Mark will give you some big leads. First, he tells you that the bandits fought amongst themselves as if they were two groups. He also tells you a bit about the fire and most importantly that the bandits went north when they fled.
Talk to Ginger
Nearby, by the barn, you’ll find Ginger. He will say a bit about what happened but seems preoccupied. He’s holding something back, but there’s nothing you can do about it right now.
Kingdom Come Deliverance The Hunt Begins: Explore the Area North of the Farm
It’s time to follow the lead on which way the bandits fled. You need to head to the northern edge of the farm near the road and look for some a torn cloak, boot prints, and some bloodstains on top of a pulled down piece of fence. This is the start of the bandit’s trail.
Follow the trail across the road and through the small forest path. Continue through the woods, following the spots of blood on the ground as you go. You’ll eventually hear someone speaking. Approach, and you’ll find a dead bandit and a live one.
You’ll have to fight the live bandit, and if you’re not careful, he can be a challenge. I’m not sure if you can subdue this one or not and interrogate them. I ended up accidentally killing them before I could find out.
Once you’ve taken care of the bandit, search the dead body, and you’ll find a Bloody Hoofpick. Logic dictates that one of the stable hands must have used their pick to stab the bandit during the raid.
Kingdom Come Deliverance The Hunt Begins: Find the Owner of the Hoofpick from Neuhof
Well, now that you have the hoofpick, you know someone isn’t telling the truth about the events that transpired during the bandit raid. Head back to the farm and talk to Mark again. He’ll recognize the pick as belonging to Ginger. Unfortunately, Ginger has split.
Mark doesn’t know where Ginger is, but Jakub has an idea. If you speak with Jakub and promise to hear Ginger out before you do anything, he’ll let you know Ginger hangs out with the charcoal-burners around the area.
Once you’re through talking to Jakub, you’ll complete The Hunt Begins and your next quest, Ginger in a Pickle, will begin.
For more help with Kingdom Come: Deliverance, take a look at our game hub or the guides below.
