The Laudanum quest in Valor Mortis is one of those side quests that looks simple on the surface and then puts a genuinely uncomfortable decision in your hands. An old woman asks William to find medicine for sick children. Sounds straightforward. It isn't. Here's the short answer: talk to the children upstairs before you go looking for the bottle, agree to poison it, and you'll be the only reason those kids make it out alive.
Where does the Laudanum quest start?
The quest becomes available in Chapter 7: Witch Hunt, while you're working through The Outskirts. Start from the Island of Whispers lantern and cross the bridge toward the Nephtoglobin wall. On the right side of the bridge area, look for a brown door with a small oil lamp beside it. As William gets close, the old woman calls out to him. Interact with the door and agree to help, and the quest officially begins.
The journal points you toward a local drunk named Barnaby, whose recently buried dog Scruffy is the clue to finding his house.
The decision you need to make before picking up the bottle
Walk around the left side of the sick house and climb the wooden planks along the narrow ledge to reach the upper door. The children inside tell you the old woman locks them up and keeps all the medicine for herself. They hand you rat poison and ask you to mix it into whatever bottle you find.
This is the only moment the choice exists. If you agree, William automatically poisons the laudanum the instant he picks it up from Barnaby's house. There is no second prompt, no confirmation screen, and no backing out once you've committed. If you decline, or skip the upper floor entirely, you'll deliver a clean bottle.
How to find the laudanum in Barnaby's house
Fast travel to the Market Square lantern. Head down the road that runs past the toxic gas clouds (top up your flasks before this section) and turn left at the crossroads. Enter the barn and climb to the upper floor, then use the Nephtoglobin pole to swing across to the building on the other side. Clear the infected villagers who ambush you on the way through.
Once you exit that building, look left for a small candlelit grave. That's Scruffy's grave, and Barnaby's house sits right next to it. Head inside, go upstairs past the soldiers and infected, and find the hole in the floor near the back corner. Drop through into the bedroom below and grab the bottle from the bedside table.
If you sided with the children, your inventory shows Poisoned Laudanum as the pickup. No additional steps are needed.
Before leaving, lower the wooden ramp near the exit to create a shortcut back to the Market Square lantern, then fast travel to the Island of Whispers.
Delivering the bottle and finishing the quest
Return to the brown door and hand over the bottle. The old woman takes it and asks William to rest and come back later. Use the Island of Whispers lantern to reset the area, then walk back to the house. The front door will be open, with blood visible on the ground floor.
What happens next depends entirely on your earlier choice.
| Choice | Old woman's fate | Children's fate | What to collect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poison the laudanum | Dies from the poison | Escape alive | Sick Child's Diary, upstairs dorm |
| Deliver it untouched | Dies from drink | All die | Old Lady's Diary, downstairs dresser |
The old woman dies either way. Her diary in the clean-bottle ending reveals she was planning to imprison more children to keep the sympathy and free medicine coming. Neither outcome affects the main story in later chapters.
In the poison ending, climb to the upstairs dormitory and read the Sick Child's Diary on the floor to complete the quest. In the clean-bottle ending, interact with the body and the diary downstairs.
What are the rewards for completing Laudanum?
Finishing the quest always grants a Mythic Catalyst Clot, which converts to 2,000 Catalysts when used. You also unlock the A Bitter Cure achievement, which only 17.1% of Steam players have earned.
The Potent Concoction amber is the standout reward here. It makes your Ferrofluid Flask restore Nephtoglobin on top of Health, with the percentage scaling by rank.
| Reward | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Mythic Catalyst Clot | Consumable | Grants 2,000 Catalysts |
| Potent Concoction | Amber | Flask restores 20% / 30% / 40% Nephtoglobin (rank 1/2/3) |
| Tiny Whisker Gift | Consumable | Grants 3,000 Catalysts (poison ending only) |
| A Bitter Cure | Achievement | Complete the Laudanum quest |
The Tiny Whisker Gift is exclusive to the poison ending, left by the children as thanks. It's worth 3,000 Catalysts, making the poison route the better choice for both story and economy.
The Potent Concoction amber also appears in chests in the Valley of Ashes and the Fortress, though one of those chests is trapped, so the quest copy is the cleanest way to grab it.
Common mistakes players make
- Skipping the upper floor entirely. If you go straight to Barnaby's house without talking to the children first, you'll deliver a clean bottle by default and the kids die. The upper door is easy to miss since it requires climbing the scaffolding on the outside of the building.
- Thinking the choice happens at delivery. The decision locks in when you pick up the bottle, not when you hand it over. There's no prompt at the door.
- Not lowering the wooden ramp after grabbing the bottle. It's a small thing, but skipping this means a longer route back to the Market Square lantern every time you're in the area.
Is the Laudanum quest worth doing?
The Potent Concoction amber alone makes it worth the detour. A flask that restores Nephtoglobin on top of Health at rank 3 (40%) is a meaningful upgrade for builds that rely heavily on Nephtoglobin-powered abilities. Add the 5,000 combined Catalysts from the Mythic Catalyst Clot and Tiny Whisker Gift (poison ending), and this is one of the better-paying side quests in The Outskirts.
For more side quests in this area of the game, the Valor Mortis Emissary quest guide covers another multi-step quest with its own branching reward. If you're working through the full quest list, the complete Valor Mortis guides collection has walkthroughs for every major side quest in the game.
FAQ
Does poisoning the old lady affect the main story? No. Neither ending changes anything in later chapters. The choice only determines whether the children survive.
Can you change your mind after agreeing to poison the laudanum? No. Once William accepts the rat poison from the children, the decision is locked. He mixes it automatically when he picks up the bottle.
What happens if you never talk to the children? You'll deliver a clean bottle and the children will die. The quest still completes and you still receive the Mythic Catalyst Clot and A Bitter Cure achievement, but you miss the Tiny Whisker Gift.
Where exactly is the Sick Child's Diary in the poison ending? After the area resets, go upstairs to the dormitory room. The diary sits on the floor and reading it triggers the quest completion banner.
Is there anything else worth grabbing near Barnaby's house? Yes. The barn on the way to Barnaby's house contains Exquisite Firearm Parts. Pistol, Blunderbuss, and Musket each need one part to reach level 8 and two more for level 9, so it's worth picking up if you're running a firearm build. Check out the Valor Mortis Lullaby quest guide for another side quest in this chapter that rewards a useful amber.
