Kingdom Come Deliverance 2‘s Source of Inspiration is the second quest in the Brushes With Death DLC, and it’s a bit of a detour from the usual sword-swinging. This time, you have to help Master Voyta find an old pagan shrine (a historical worship place for the old gold Veles) to use in his painting, but the only old lady who knows where it is barely remembers it.
To locate the destination, you’ll need to track down Valerian flowers, fix a dress, recite a poem, and deal with a few bandits. This KCD2’s Source of Inspiration side quest walkthrough breaks down each step to make sure you don’t miss anything, including how to unlock the optional Poet’s Gut trophy.
Source of Inspiration Walkthrough in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
After completing the first quest “A Sketchy Situation” in Brushes With Death DLC, stick around Trosky Castle and talk to Master Voyta again. Ask him if he needs more help by choosing the dialogue option, “I just like helping“, and he will then ask for your assistance to paint his new art triggering this new Source of Inspiration quest.
What Voyta is after is a forgotten shrine dedicated to Veles, a pagan god. He is curious about these historic worship things and wants to paint in his new piece, but he doesn’t know where it is. He heard an old lady named Kvyetoslava might have the answer. So it begins your hunt to find and meet that woman.
Talk to Kvyetoslava at Vidlak Pond
Head to Vidlak Pond northwest of the Trosky region. If you’ve previously been here, fast travel to save some time. Look for Kvyetoslava outside her cottage. She is the only NPC who knows about the shrine but her memory is about as dusty as an old cellar. She vaguely remembers the shrine but needs some help recovering her memory. In this process, she will task you to find five Valerian flowers, which were used to be brought to her by Vlasta back in the day.
Find Valerian Flowers
Finding the Valerian is one of the easier parts of this quest. The flowers are white and ball-shaped and grow right behind her house near a stream. Head north from her cottage, to be precise about 15 meters away from her living area, and you should spot them in no time. They’re nestled in the grassy meadow and grow in clusters near the Vidlak Pond. Pick five and bring them back to her.
Repair Kvyetoslava’s Dress
Once she receives flowers, she remembers her old dress, which is currently damaged. She asks you to repair it and you have a couple of choices to get the job done. Use a Tailor’s Kit to repair it yourself if you have one on hand (much quicker). Otherwise, head to a tailor in Troskowitz and pay around 16 Groschen for the work. The price can vary depending on your reputation. Get the dress sorted, and bring it back to Kvyetoslava.
Recite a Poem – Skill Checks and Poet’s Gut Trophy
Before she spills the beans about the shrine’s location, Kvyetoslava wants to relive her youth with a little dance and a poem. This part includes four skill checks, mostly testing your Scholarship and Charisma. You should have at least 20 or more of these skill checks, and passing all four unlocks the “Poet’s Gut” trophy/achievement. If you miss even one, you can’t get the trophy and continue the quest. So, better save your game before going through this quest part.
Here’s what helps here:
- 20 Scholarship and 19+ Charisma.
- Dress in fine clothes (buy some at the tailor if needed).
- Use the Ladies’ Man perk for +2 on dialogue checks.
- Level up Scholarship by reading books from scribes, especially in Kuttenberg.
- Pay Scribe Erazim in Trosky Castle to train you (costs 200 Groschen).
Poem Dialogue:
- “Let’s dance, then.”
- “She yearned for something more.” (Scholarship)
- “He brought her gifts.” (Charisma)
- “They were equals.” (Scholarship)
- “Remember Veles.” (Scholarship)
By successfully passing all skill checks, she will be impressed enough to finally share what she knows.
Search for the Veles Shrine
Kvyetoslava remembers three possible locations for the Veles shrine. Only one is accurate, but here’s a breakdown of all three just in case you want to explore:
- Rocky Hill Between the Ponds (Wrong): Near Vidlak Pond, head south into the woods. You’ll find a shrine along with a few boulders and a big one in the center, but not the shrine you need. You do unlock a point of interest called “Pagan Shrine” though.
- Stream Past Nebakov Fortress (Wrong): Visit or fast travel to Nebakov and head into the woods. In the center of the marked zone, there is a broken statue in a stream—an interesting place to explore but not the real shrine.
- River Tributary of Lower Semine Pond (Correct Location): Head southwest of Nebakov Fortress into the forest. When you reach the area, you’ll find a big stone face carved into a hill and that’s where the actual shrine is.
Though four bandits are camping out at the Veles shrine. You have two ways to deal with them:
- Go in loud and fight them head-on, only good thinking if you’re well-armed, or wait until around 1 AM and sneak into their setting area to quietly kill them one by one in their sleep using a stealth dagger.
Once done with clearing the area of enemies, walk up to the stone face and interact with it. There’s also a bloodied corpse at the site you’ll need to inspect to complete the objective.
Bring Voyta to the Shrine
Now that you’ve found the shrine, return to Voyta at Trosky Castle. Tell him what you found and suggest, “Let’s go now.” You’ll get a cutscene of the two of you at the shrine. After the scene plays out, have another conversation with him.
For extra reputation, choose:
- “I like it.”
- “Did you find what you needed?”
- “Kvyetoslava mentioned you…”
- “She told me to be wary of you.”
- “You seem uneasy.”
- “Tell me straight.”
- “I wouldn’t think that.”
And with that, the Source of Inspiration in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 wraps up, and you will get the rewards including Reputation Boosts and Poet’s Gut Trophy, and the story continues in the next DLC quest “Chiaroscuro”.
