In Greedfall: The Dying World, completing your Donegad initiation quest requires investigating a dangerous illness plaguing your village. This quest introduces you early on to the differences between the native Teer Fradee inhabitants and the foreigners who come to exploit the island’s resources.
The quest has several steps and objectives, with multiple ways to complete each task. There’s some risk involved, but this guide will help you navigate everything smoothly.
Updated March 10, 2026: This guide now includes tips for completing the quest stealthily (or not) and reflects any changes from the game’s 1.0 update.
How to Complete “A New Evil”
First, after finishing the combat tutorial and learning your tasks, head to talk to Toflan, located at the north end of Vigeshvar, your home village. Speak with him about the sick villagers. Engage in conversation options to gather clues—mainly, you’ll learn about a fishing spot frequented by the patients.
Pro tip: Before leaving the village, pick up the side quest The Missing Scales by talking to Armal at the Visitors’ House. It can be completed alongside your current quest.
How to Examine the Fishing Spot
Leave the village heading south, then go east toward the quest marker—make sure your journal is tracking the quest so the marker remains visible. As you travel, you’ll receive a prompt about stealth. To avoid combat with the native beasts, crouch and sneak through red bushes. While optional, avoiding fights grants you an achievement and can make the quest easier.
At the fishing spot marked on your map, you’ll be introduced to the Tracking mode. Examine two key items here:
- Piles of bile and vomit on the ground north of the fishing spot.
- Dead fish on the riverbank.
Use your Survival skill to examine the bile. If you succeed, footprints will appear, making it easier to follow the trail. Failure still leaves a trail you can follow manually. Follow the footprints north and then west, toward the final location indicated by the map.
Near the trail, you’ll encounter some lewolans. You can choose to fight or sneak past them. Once past, examine the dead lewolan to gather more clues.
Inspecting the Mine
From the area, head further north to find the mine’s entrance, where you’ll have a conversation with the Dog Handling Instructor. This will give you access to the mine. Go to the edge of the mine and meet the Mine Supervisor for a cutscene. During the conversation, accept the investigation offer to learn about the theft being blamed on the natives.
If you fought the miners or failed diplomacy:
You can still enter the mine by taking a side path on the left from the main entrance, bypassing the front guard. Sneak past the guards or fight your way through. Interact with a lever to lower a bridge and proceed inside.
Clearing Your Name
Follow the Mine Supervisor into the storeroom. Enter Tracking mode and examine glowing objects: a bow, a lock, footprints, and birch leaves. You can pick the lock on a chest if you wish—loot won’t affect your reputation. Then, report your findings to the Mine Supervisor to gain experience, a key to the mines, and three pickaxes.
Using a pickaxe might be better than your starting weapon if you’re melee-focused. Return to the mine entrance, use the key to unlock the door, and consider a Mechanics check for extra experience; it’s optional.
Saving the Miners
Inside, you’ll find trapped miners behind rubble. Head through the linear passage, inspecting ore veins and looting chests. When encountering a miner threatening a native, passing a Diplomacy check can resolve the situation peacefully—failing will require combat.
Near the end of the mine, you’ll reach a split; going right leads to Vlann from your side quest. At the final section, you’ll face a restricted area controlled by the Bridge Alliance. To free the miners, you need explosives, which are only accessible in this restricted zone. Sneak into the area, steal a dynamite from the lower level, and quickly exit to avoid combat and reputation loss.
Use the dynamite to blow through the rubble and free the trapped miners. Afterward, speak to the Mine Supervisor to resign and receive some gold.
Analyzing the Samples
Head to the colonists’ fort east of the Lake Region to analyze your samples. Talk to the Fort Captain about potentially-poisoned items from the mine—he’ll guide you to the fort’s doctor. Speak with her to analyze the samples.
If it’s your first time meeting the Captain, you’ll gain the Influence in the Council of Renewal quest. Wait for the doctor to complete the analysis, then ask her for the Quicksilver Poisoning Treatment. Return to the village to give Toflan the medicine and complete the quest.
Shutting Down the Mine
After your investigation, you can choose various ways to shut down the mine:
- Talk to the miners outside the mine; revealing your findings will stop their work.
- Confront the Mine Supervisor.
- Work with Furkan to forge a shutdown document by stealing a seal from the fortified back area of the Fort Captain’s building.
Any of these methods will suffice.
How to Heal the Sick
Return to Toflan after discovering the illness’s cause. Use the Quicksilver Treatment on him to cure the sickness and complete the quest.
This guide covers all critical steps, choices, and strategies to help you successfully complete the Donegad quest in Greedfall: The Dying World.
