Atomfall: Hearing Voices Lead Guide

Quest givers have a funny way of asking the world of you, don’t they? You make the perilous journey through Casterfell Woods, fighting off druids and hopefully evading their infinite supply of boobytraps, and finally reach Mother Jago to get some of that sweet, strange tonic.

Mother Jago’s tonic is a foolproof way to survive infections from the growth that infests the quarantine zone.

Having access to that is essential if you want to explore some high-stakes underground sections in Atomfall, including a couple of important zones in the Interchange.

This tonic is also important back in Wyndham, as part of The Bakery lead, where you can help a worried wife look after her ailing husband.

Rather than give you a dozen bottles of the good stuff, Mother Jago informs you that she’s all out of ingredients and doesn’t know how to make the thing.

While that might make you question her credentials as a herbalist (after all, what grandma forgets her special recipe?), the end result is the same: you’re on a fetch quest.

Preparing The Rescue

Mother Jago will explain to you that the book and the recipe are in possession of the druids, who have taken them back to their main base in the castle.

The druid base is located in the southwestern corner of Casterfell Woods.

Although Mother Jago insists the matter is ‘nothing worth killing for’, the castle and the adjacent druid camps are off-limits to strangers. Druids are wary by default, so being caught trespassing means they will instantly turn hostile.

Before you set off on this quest, I highly recommend filling up your health bar, and then stockpiling curatives and munitions.

Aim for a stealth approach, but be ready to fight your way out if it comes to that. Druids use a mix of bows and melee weapons, so you have a major advantage over them even with early weapons.

Infiltrating The Druid Castle

Make your way down to the castle entrance. Both northern and southern approaches are heavily guarded, but the main gate itself is sparsely populated.

Use the grass and druid tents for concealment whenever possible, and if you are spotted, make a run for it. There’s no place for bravery here as you will be severely outnumbered.

If you’re looking to get the recipe as swiftly as possible, you’ll want to get into the castle through the main gates. You can access the castle via the Castle Ruins located to the left of the main gates, but it’s a bit of a labyrinth down there.

The High Priestess in the Castle Ruins has an Atomic Battery, which might make this more scenic route worth your while, depending on how many you have already.

Either way, once inside, assuming you did use the front door, take the first left to head into the kitchen, and search the countertops for the Castle Key required to enter the main portion of the building. You’ll find it right by a candle and a rotting pot.

In the banquet hall, dispatch the enemies around you, and then use the keyhole to the right of the fireplace to reveal a secret door to the main castle section.

Finding The Recipe And The Book

Expect a handful of druids upon entering. Once you are clear of them, head up the door to the right.

On the far end of the table, you will find Mother Jago’s book on a plate surrounded by candles. You’ll want to pick it up, but don’t forget that you are here for the tonic recipe, so get both of these done in one go.

The pages with the strange tonic recipe are on a counter to the left of the book. Hit the button to learn it, which then completes the Hearing Voices questline.

Leave the castle the same way you came in, with extra care for those pesky druids as they will have respawned outside.

Mother Jago’s Strange Tonic

With the tonic recipe in hand, you can now protect yourself from the growth that plagues the underground sections anywhere in the quarantine zone.

Mother Jago’s tonic buffs your resistance to fungal infection, reduces any build-up you have already had, and lowers the damage output from infection-causing hazards.

The strange tonic recipe requires the following ingredients per unit:

Spores are the hardest item to find on this list unless you have purchased Blue Fingers on the skill tree. Fortunately for you, Mother Jago is constantly stocked with spores, which are relatively cheap as far as barters go.

If you’d like, you can also make some and give it to the baker to try and save her husband, as part of The Bakery lead.