Dragon's Dogma 2: The Caged Magistrate quest walkthrough
The fastest way to find and release Waldhar the Magistrate
Stuck on The Caged Magistrate quest in Dragon's Dogma 2? It's an unusual one, for sure. Not least because you're tasked with springing a man from jail who, it turns out, doesn't want to leave his cell. Not unless you can tempt him back to society with a recently unearthed collection of ancient history books, anyway.
If you're struggling with any part of The Caged Magistrate quest (or its associated side-quest, The Heel Of History), fret not. Keep reading for a full, easy-to-follow walkthrough of the entire quest in Dragon's Dogma 2.
For our full walkthrough of the entire game or to find a different quest, visit our Dragon's Dogma 2 walkthrough guide!
The Caged Magistrate quest walkthrough
The Caged Magistrate objectives:
- Obtain the Gaol Key and Eventide Mask from Brant.
- Enter Vernworth Castle.
- Meet Otto at the base of the Gaol Tower.
- Open the first cell on your right and speak to Waldhar.
- Speak to Brant.
- Give food to Kendrick twice.
- Speak to the three children near Kendrick.
- Speak to Kendrick again.
- Find Malcolm inside the Gracious Hand's Vaults.
- Follow Malcolm to the library.
- Report news of the library to Waldhar.
- Lead Waldhar out of the Gaol Tower.
- Report back to Brant.
After asking Brant to tell you of the magistrate, he'll give you "The Caged Magistrate" quest, along with the all-important Gaol Key. Before you go off in search of the magistrate, you should also accept the main quest "The Stolen Throne", because Brant will give you an Eventide Mask that you can use for any quest that involves sneaking into Vernworth Castle - such as this one.
Head to the south exit of Vernworth to enter Vernworth Castle. Then turn left and run on until you find a guard named Otto outside a tower. He'll let you into the Gaol Tower.
Head down the spiral staircase and use the Gaol Key to open the first cell door on your right. Speak to Waldhar, the titular "caged magistrate", and he'll tell you he won't leave unless you find him a place with lots of books. Perfectly reasonable.
There's nothing left to be done for now in the Gaol Tower. Return to Brant, and he'll tell you to speak to Kendrick at the Gracious Hand. Use the map to reach the Gracious Hand and you'll find Kendrick out front.
Kendrick won't speak to you properly until you donate food to him twice. After that, he'll give you the side-quest "The Heel Of History", regarding a missing boy called Malcolm. It's not just busy-work; this side-quest is required in order to complete "The Caged Magistrate". Don't worry, it's a quick and easy quest.
Speak to the three children in the vicinity one at a time. Aimee is inside the chapel. Harvey is outside the hovel opposite the chapel. Rick is by the well on the northeast side of the chapel. Once that's done, speak to Kendrick again and he'll guide you through a hole in the wall into the Vaults. March onward from there until you find Malcolm, then follow Malcolm to a secret library.
Once the side-quest is completed, don your mask and head back to the Castle Gaol Tower to speak to Waldhar again. Tell him of the library you found, and he'll ask you to escort him out of the Gaol Tower.
To escort Waldhar out of the Gaol Tower, don't go back the way you came. Instead, head onwards around the corner from the cells, and unlock the gate at the end using the same Gaol Key you used to unlock his cell. Follow this path, and you'll soon find yourself outside.
Once outside, Waldhar will thank you and leave, no doubt beelining to the Gracious Hand to start studying that hidden library. You are then free to make your way back to the Stardrop Inn at night and report back to Brant to complete the quest - and earn a Ferrystone and 7,000g as your reward.
That concludes our walkthrough of The Caged Magistrate quest in Dragon's Dogma 2. While you're here, why not make yourself as powerful an Arisen as possible and check out our guides on the best builds for the Archer, Fighter, Mage, Magick Archer, Mystic Spearhand, Sorcerer, Thief, Trickster, Warrior, and Warfarer!