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Dragon’s Dogma 2features a healthy split between itsmain questlinesand its side questlines, though sometimes the line between the two can blur considerably! Early on, during your first visits to Vernworth, Captain Brant will provide you with a series of main quests to complete, fromDisa’s PlottoThe Stolen Throneand more. One of these quests isThe Caged Magistrate, wherein Captain Brant tasks you with rescuing a currentlyjailed Magistratewhoseloyalty lies with truth and justice, thus making him a potentially strong ally for your and Brant’s cause.
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Unfortunately, Magistrate Waldhar is currently gaoled for failing to do the bidding of the queen. You’ll need to work toward freeing Magister Waldhar from gaol, though this isn’t a simple jailbreak questline. You must complete a number of steps before Waldhar can see the light of the sun again, and it’ll take some troubleshooting to figure out exactlyhow to convince Waldhar to leave. This guide details where to find a “mountain of tomes” and complete The Caged Magistrate with ease.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
How To Start The Caged Magistrate
After arriving in Vernworth and speaking with Captain Brant, you’ll be able to link up with him at the tavern across the plaza, but only at night. If you’re low on health, go rest at the nearby inn. Otherwise, there’s a convenient bench to ‘Doze Off’ located at Stardropp Inn, which you can use to quickly change the time of day.
Brant will have a series of main story quests you’ll want to complete. Not only will they familiarize you with the city and its layout, but they will also help center your Arisen and their story in the world.
You won’t have to completeeveryquest Brant gives you in order to advance the main story, but each one is worth your time.
Afterspeaking with Brantabout the imprisoned Magistrate, you’ll begin The Caged Magistrate.
Infiltrate Vernworth Castle Gaol Tower
You’ll first need to journey to Vernworth Castle and seek out the Vernworth Castle Gaol Tower. You’ll want to head into the Noble Quarter, then into the Castle proper, heading toward the objective on the map (shown above). You know you’ll reach the right location you meeet a guard standing outside the tower, who lets you know Brant told him to expect you.
If you’re looking for acool armor set, ensure tohead down into the nearby well!
This next leg of the quest can range from simple to slightly devious. When I first completed this quest, I simply walked down into the gaol, past the patrolling guards, used theGaol Cell keyto unlock the Magistrate’s cell, and walked in to speak with him.Other members of our editorial were immediately spotted by the guards, captured, and sent to prison!
Assuming the intent here is to sneak around the patrolling guards (which Captain Brantdoeswarn you about), thepatrolling guards haveexceedinglypoor eyesight.
The guardsneverturn around, only walking in their set loop, so you simply need to remain behind them.
The first patrol you encounter is simple to avoid, consisting of a single soldier. Even if you end up in front of them, they don’t seem alerted to your presence until they’re very close.
Once you’re past the first patrolling guard, you’ll enter a long room lined with cells, withtwo guards patrolling in a loop around the sides. Fortunately, theMagistrate’s cellis thefirst one on your right, so wait for a gap in their patrol, then run up, interact with the cell, use the Gaol Key, and enter. If you do this quickly enough, the patrolling guards will continue walking past the cell (completely ignoring the open cell door).
Speak with the Magistrate to try to convince him to join your cause, but unfortunately, the Magistrate is actually quite content in his current lodgings. Essentially, unless you’re able to offer him a private place where he can hide that also provides him access to a “mountain of tomes,” he’d rather just stay in gaol.
At this point, you are simply tasked with finding the correct location. You might think to search around the Noble Quarter, as that might be a logical place in which to find a stocked library, but thesolution actually lies in the Slums.
Though not so fast! It’s easy to rush ahead in certain scenarios, and this is one of them.
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Complete The Heel Of History Quest
to advance The Caged Magistrate, you’ll first need to complete another side quest —The Heel of History. To begin this quest, head down into the Slums, towardThe Gracious Hand. Standing outside this house of healing, you’ll encounter a man namedKendrick, who will requestgold for funding The Gracious Hand. You’ll need to pay him in order to then begin The Heel of History.
A young boy by the name ofMalcolm has gone missing. You’ll need to question some of the other children in the surrounding area, which will eventually lead you to the crumbling tower as shown in the background of the above image.
For awalkthrough of The Heel of Historyquest,check out our guide here!
Find Malcolm In The Tower Ruins
Descend the tower and into the gloom below. You’ll encounter a few minor enemies here — small spiders mostly — and they can be completely avoided. Follow the fairly linear path through the area until you encounter Malcolm. He’s discovered amassive archive of books, which he’ll lead you to.
Follow Malcolm until the quest is resolved, andKendrick makes Malcolm promise not to reveal its location to anyone.
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Tell Magistrate Waldhar Of The Vault
With the Vault discovered, you’ll now be able to advance your quest for Magistrate Waldhar.Return to the Vernworth Castle Gaol Tower, but this time, by a different route. To the south/southwest path from the Slums, you’ll find a thin path heading up against theouter cliffs of Vernworth. Follow this path (indicated on the map above by the ‘I’ map marker), and head up that way until you find theblack gate. This is the lower entrance to the Vernworth Castle Gaol Tower.
This lower entrance will be yourescape routeonce you grab Waldhar, so familiarize yourself with the path.
ensure tosave your gamebefore entering this gate — if you arespotted by the guards, you’ll want to reload the save.
Return to Waldhar’s cell, careful to avoid the guards in case they aggro on you. The guards don’t have a great vision range, so simply walk behind one of the patrolling guards until you pass by Waldhar’s cell at thefar left end (from this lower entrance). Speak with Waldhar, tell him about the Vault, and he will begin following you.
Now, you’ll need toavoid the guards with Waldhar in tow. The guards don’t seem to aggro to Waldhar himself, only to you, so keep that in mind when planning your escape. My advice — simply wait until one of the guards passes by, then follow in their footsteps at a close distance, and as soon as you reach the far end, escape back through the rightmost cell that leads back down the tower to the lower entrance.
Avideo showing how I escapedwith the Magistrate is included below.
Once you’re past the guards, continue down to the bottom of the tower until exiting back onto the cliffs overlooking the Slums. At this point, Waldhar will thank you for freeing him, and he will continue along to the Vault on his own.
you may go speak with him now that he’s there, but this step isn’t strictly necessary in order to complete the quest. Definitely speak with him, though, as he’ll havea new quest for you!
Return To Captain Brant To Complete Quest
At this point, you simply need to return to Captain Brant atStardrop Inn at nightto turn in the quest and complete The Caged Magistrate.
Uponquest completion, you’ll earn:
You will alsolose access to your Gaol Key, so if you’d like to hang onto it a bit longer, consider holding off on turning in this quest.
For more guidance toward navigating the strange world of Dragon’s Dogma 2, consider checking out ournew player tips and tricks list, as well as our guide onhow to reach the land of the elves.
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