Of Ash And Steel Walkthrough – From “Underground Pests” To “Impenetrable Fort”

Of Ash and Steel is a medieval open-world RPG that takes the idea of no hand-holding to the next level. You do not even get access to a map before completing Act One. Even after you finally gain access to the map, it will not be what you would normally expect. You will need to draw the map yourself by traveling to different areas. Due to this design choice, the game will remain complicated and challenging for quite a while.

After talking to Mazhar, your next quest is going to be quite simple, but the rest of the objectives will be a little more troublesome and confusing. Here, in this guide, I will tell you how to complete Underground Pests, Stolen Goods Can’t Be Gifts, A Letter Sealed With The Royal Rune, and Impenetrable Fort in Of Ash and Steel.

If you want to know more about the game itself, head over to its Steam page.

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Underground Pests Quest Walkthrough

Once you have made a deal with Mazhar, exit his house and go the other way. Follow the path ahead while staying on the right side, and someone will stop you along the way. He will ask you to bring his mace back, which he lost while fighting the beasts earlier. He will ask you to bring it back, so accept the quest and then head right to enter the tunnel.

Exploring The Tunnel

After entering, follow the path ahead, and you will then come across a Tunnel Beast. These monsters are pretty strong, so if you do not deal much damage and they take a chunk of your health, I recommend staying back and letting Irvin handle them. Irvin is extremely strong, so it will not be a challenge for him.

He will take down the beast in a few hits. After defeating the monster, go ahead, and you will see a gate opened to the right. Enter it to find a chest. If you have a lockpick and your character knows how to use it, open the chest to get some loot. After that, get back on the path, and there will be more monsters.

Let Irvin Deal With The Monsters

Let Irvin handle them, as they deal quite a lot of damage. Even getting hit once can be lethal, so make sure to stay away. You can use your bow from a distance. After defeating the monsters, go ahead and follow the path to the right. There is a Stonecruncher at the bottom that you can reach from the path to the left. Irvin can even defeat this monstrosity, so if you want to give it a shot, go ahead.

However, to continue progressing, head to the right and follow the path ahead. There will be a Tunnel Beast right in front of you. Let Irvin handle this one, too. After that, go ahead, and there will be yet another one. When Irvin has defeated it, follow the path ahead, and there will be some more monsters.

Now, Irvin may have a hard time here, as there will be quite a few Tunnel Beasts in this area. So, to help him, draw your weapon and perform a heavy attack. I did this with a rapier, and the charged attack managed to stun the monster for a bit, helping Irvin a lot.

There will be an armor-reinforcing kit and Forgotten Recipes in the room to the right, and a chest in the room to the left. The chest needs to be opened with a lockpick, and it contains a Gold Bar, three Steel Bars, and one Hemalite.

How To Defeat The Old Tunnel Beast

After that, follow the main path ahead, and you will enter the boss room. Here, you need to defeat the Old Tunnel Beast, which has quite a bit of health and is pretty huge. However, if you take a single hit from it, you can lose almost half of your health or maybe even more. So, be careful and let Irvin handle most of the fight.

Even Irvin will not be able to defeat this monster with just a couple of hits, so you will need to back him up a little. That said, Irvin still deals a lot of damage, so this boss will not be a match for him. Try to get the last hit to get 1,000 EXP. After defeating the boss, inspect it to get 2 Skill Potions (legendary item), Excellent Hide, and some other items.

In the room, there are two chests. One you can open with a lockpick, but for the other, you need a key. I could not find the key to the chest inside the tunnel, so now that you have defeated the boss, head back to Mazhar and let him know. After that, he will give you the name of the person who attacked you and took the letter. With this, Underground Pests in Of Ash and Steel will conclude.

So, it is time for you to make a long and dangerous journey to get back the precious letter. This journey is not going to be easy, especially the last part, so be prepared.

Stolen Goods Can’t Be Gifts Quest Walkthrough

After you tell Mazhar that the beasts in the tunnel have been taken care of, he will tell you about the person you are looking for. His name is Ruk, and while his whereabouts are not confirmed, Mazhar will recommend searching for him in the swamp, which is pretty far away.

How To Find Ruck

If you have explored the game quite a bit, you may have already seen some signs pointing toward the swamp. However, if you have not seen any, then I do not blame you. To find Ruk, head out of Mazhar’s house and talk to Irvin. After that, exit the area, and Irvin will tell you that someone is following you both.

He will ask you to head to the swamp while he takes care of that person. So now, you are on your own. After talking to Irvin, head down to the sunflower field, and at the end, take a right. That is where the stone bridge is. Just ahead will be your home, and it will probably be nighttime, so head there to sleep until morning.

Rest In Your Home

If you still have not bought the home, it is a good time to do so. Rest until morning, exit the house, head down the path, and then head north. Keep going ahead and follow the path going up to the left side. Head to the top of the tower to get the map of this area, as it will help you with traversal.

You will also get 15,000 EXP. After that, open the map and head to the Expedition. Once you are at the location in the image above, you will come across a board of signs. From there, head left and then take a right. Cross the two wooden bridges, go ahead, and follow the path to the right (not the cave one).

Go through the vines and then take a left. Ahead, you will find some enemies. They will be strong, so you can ignore them for now and keep heading ahead. Shortly after, you will come across a signboard. From there, take a left, follow the path ahead, and you will come across some ruins.

Instead of entering the ruins, follow the path to the left and keep going ahead. Then take a left, and another left after traveling just a little further. After that, you will find the swamp. Go ahead, and you will encounter Tven, and a fight will start. He will be defeated in a single blow, and then two bandits will join the fight.

Defeat The Bandits

I made them fight the swamp monster nearby, and the monster managed to beat them both. After that, I defeated the monster and went inside the camp. Ruk will be inside, so talk to him, and this will also lead to a fight.

Talk To Ruck And Then Defeat Him

Ruk is a tricky opponent, but he does not parry much; at least, he did not parry 90 percent of my attacks. However, he does have quite a lot of attack power. Ruck also uses combos, so be careful. I recommend using a rapier in this fight, as you can keep your distance and defeat him with your fencing.

You can be aggressive in this fight, but if he takes a lot of your health, run back and eat something. Ruk does a lot of taunts, so you will have plenty of openings to attack him. After defeating him, loot the letter and some other items by inspecting him.

After that, loot the area, and now you have to bring the letter back to Kurt, the leader of the Freemen. Head back and give him the letter. After that, the Stolen Goods Can’t Be Gifts quest will be over.

A Letter Sealed With The Royal Rune Quest Walkthrough

After you have reached the Freemen headquarters, head to the leader and tell him that you have found the letter. He will then ask you to find Denesh in the city.

The Letter Opening Ritual Quest Walkthrough

Now you need to head back to the city, so exit the area and make your way toward the stone bridge. Heading there should be pretty easy for you now. From there, go ahead, take a right, and follow the path up while staying on the left side. Continue following the path ahead, cross the wooden bridge, head up the stairs, and shortly after, you will reach the tavern.

Head Toward The City

Just ahead is the giant statue. From there, the path is very simple, so head into the city and enter. You can enter from the left side by climbing the vines or by swimming through the right side. That said, if you have already paid once, you can enter through the main gate.

Where To Find The Runemaster

Then head right, left, and then go north. After that, take a right, go up, ahead, and then right again. Go down two pairs of stairs and then head right to enter a house. Inside, you will find the Runemaster Denesh. Talk to him, and he will ask you to wait outside for a while as he gets ready.

As you exit his house, a cutscene will commence featuring Denesh being attacked by someone. After the cutscene ends, talk to Denesh again, and he will tell you that the letter was sealed with the Rune of Kripte. Now that you know which seal was used on this letter, head back to Kurt to let him know.

Head Back To Kurt And Observe The Ritual

Talk to Kurt, and he will ask you to come with him to observe the ritual. Follow him, and he will take you to the tree where the ritual is being performed. Ask the Drudas if they need any help, and one of them will tell you to check up on her sisters, who went to pick up some herbs but have not returned yet.

This will start a new quest, but it is not necessary to complete it. Talk to Kurt, and the quest The Letter Opening Ritual will be completed in Of Ash and Steel. After that, the ritual will start. During the ritual, you will learn about the letter’s content, and then you will have a conversation with Kurt.

After the conversation with Kurt is over, a new quest, Impenetrable Fort (Freemen), will begin, and A Letter Sealed With The Royal Rune will conclude.

Impenetrable Fort (Freemen) Quest Walkthrough

The contents of the letter have changed a lot, so now you need to get ready for a war. Your first task, given by Kurt, is to clear the devotees out of the fort. The fort is south of the city, so you will need to head there. First, head toward the giant statue. Now, just before reaching the giant statue, there will be a path to the left, and a signboard will also be there.

Heading Toward The Fort

Take that left turn and then follow the path going upward. Continue along the path, and an NPC named Karl will stop you along the way. Talk to him, and if you agree to help, another quest called Saving Martha will begin, which is a side quest. Now, before entering, draw a map of the area, as this is one of the vantage points. Then, enter the fort and explore it completely to collect some loot.

There are plenty of items lying around, so make sure to pick them up, and then head up the stairs to find the leader of the sect near the green light. Talk to him, and once the conversation is over, one of your objectives will be completed. However, you still need to clear the devotees out of the fort.

Come Back During Midnight To Talk To The Devotees

If you come during the day, then you will have to wait until midnight. Luckily, the tavern is nearby, so rest there until midnight and then return. All of them will now be awake, so talk to Lyra. After that, head up the stairs and talk to the sect leader. Eventually, you will get the option “Get out of the fort,” so choose it. No matter what you say to him, he will not agree to move out of the fort.

Talk To The Enlightened Ones

So, you will get a new objective: Talk to the Enlightened Ones. Talk to Lyra again, and after speaking with her for a while, she will ask whether you are planning to join them. You will get three options. If you choose the second one, she will see through your lies. I chose the first option, and the conversation continued. After that, select “You lot would be better off finding a new home,” and this will trigger a new quest.

This is sort of a continuation of your previous quest, as you still have to make them leave. So now, it is time to demoralize the devotees.

Demoralise The Devotees

Now, as you have talked to the devotees, head back to the tavern and sleep until morning. Then go back to the fort and talk to Pegasus, the one who is guarding a door inside the fort. If you have 12 Insight, you will be able to choose a new dialogue option: “Your great Luna has appeared along with the sun in the sky!”

Sabotage The Food Supplies

After hearing that, Pegasus will head out, leaving the door unguarded. Enter the room, loot some items, and sabotage the food supplies. Also, pick up the stone and take it outside. Then, talk to Kart, who is outside the fort at the end of the path, and he will suggest sabotaging the water supply as well.

Sabotage The Water Supply

You may have noticed a ladder on the right side. Go up, and you will see a body inside a cage. It will be hanging by a chain, and the mechanism will be on the left side, facing the body. Break the mechanism, and the body will fall into the well, poisoning the water.

Now, you need to talk to Lyra again, and for that, you will need to wait until night. So, head back to the tavern, sleep until midnight, return to the fort, and then talk to her. Speaking with her will complete the Devotees’ Supplies quest, but you still have to clear the devotees out of the fort.

Where To Find The Alchemist

He has a new plan to make their life miserable inside the fort, and to execute it, you will need access to some explosives. So now, you need to head to an alchemist Karl told you about.

To find the alchemist, head past the tavern, cross the wooden bridge, and go down the stairs. Follow the path to the right and cross another wooden bridge. Eventually, you will notice the pathway splitting into two. Choose the left one and keep moving forward while staying on the right side.

Prepare The Volcanic Stew

Eventually, you will notice a gap on the right. Enter it, follow the path, and you will find Corodelius inside the area. He will ask you the reason for blowing up the bathroom. I chose the second option, and he will give you the recipe. Now, make the Volcanic Stew and show the alchemist the stew you just made.

Blow Up The Fort’s Privy

Now, head back and rest until morning (if it is night in your game), talk to Karl, and then head over to the fort. Enter the wooden shack and carry out the job. A cutscene will commence, and after that, talk to Karl. Then, wait until night and talk to Martha or Lyra about how the devotees are doing.

This will complete the A Fragrant Explosion quest, but the devotees still will not leave the fort. She will then tell you about the ceremony, and your next task will be to sabotage it.

Sabotage The Ceremony

Now, to interrupt the ceremony, head back to Karl, and he will come up with another one of his cunning ideas. To sabotage the ceremony, you are given four tasks: Interrupt the ceremony, desecrate the stones, steal the herbs, and Place Martha’s whistle.

You now have to rest until morning and then choose to desecrate the stones. You may have noticed a statue in the fort. Head there, and you will find two stones. Pick up those stones and take them to the privy. Place one on the left and the other on the right side.

Now, exit the privy, head north, and enter through the passage past the ladder on the right. Upon entering, you will find a chest to the right. Open it to steal the herbs and place Martha’s whistle inside. If you have 15 Dexterity, which you most likely do, you can also take the letters.

Defeat The Bandits

The letter would be from Martha to her dad, so you can give it to Karl. After you have talked to Karl, some bandits will start attacking you both. Defeat them and talk to Karl again. After that, head back to the fort, and a cutscene will commence featuring the ceremony.

Shortly after, you will get to choose between two dialogue options. Choose the first one, and Luna’s children will agree to leave the fort and head to the swamp. This will complete your main quest as well as the Saving Martha side quest.

Now, to complete the Impenetrable Fort (Freemen) quest, you have to report to Kurt about what happened at the fort. Head back to the Freemen headquarters and talk to him. After that, the Impenetrable Fort quest will be over, along with Act Two in Of Ash and Steel. With this, Act Three, Mud and Stone, will commence.

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For more guides and walkthroughs, be sure to check out the links below:

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