When you complete the Dark Talisman Quest and arrive in the Witch’s Swamp, you are suddenly stopped by her Goblin Henchman blocking your way. Read this complete guide to know everything you need to know to get past the Stardew Valley Henchman and defeat the Goblin Problem quest.
Description
The Henchman is a goblin NPC in Stardew Valley that guards the path in the Swamp to the Witch’s Hut. By blocking the path to the Hut, he prevents you from retrieving the bottle of Magic Ink that the Wizard tasked you to retrieve at the beginning of the Dark Talisman Quest.
The goblin has green skin, red eyes, and wears a metal helmet and red robe. When he prevents the player from passing, he says that he is sorry he cannot let you pass because he would lose his job. In classic Stardew Valley fashion, it creates a likable character even out of a goblin.
The Goblin Problem
This quest triggers upon you entering the Witch’s Swamp for the first time. Completing The Goblin Problem is the only way for you to unlock both wizard buildings and the dark shrines inside the Witch’s Hut.
How to get past the goblin
When you receive the quest, you will get the hint that perhaps you “should seek out more information on goblins”. Though this hint at first appears rather vague, where do you go for information other than the Library? This is the first step in your journey, you must travel to the Stardew Valley Museum and Library.
The library is located on the east side of Pelican Town, just across the lower bridge. It is located directly south of the Blacksmith. Gunther is the curator of the library, and when you arrive in the library for the first time he asks you to help by donating artifacts and minerals as well as finding the lost books from the library. These books are the key to finding what you need to give the Stardew Valley Henchman to let you pass.
 | A lost book. |
Goblins by M. Jasper
Finding this lost book requires either using a hoe to dig up artifact spots or acquiring fishing treasure chests. After you find them in the world, the books are automatically added to the bookcase shelves in the Library and are available for you to read.
Reading Goblins by M. Jasper gives lots of lore involving these green skinned beings. They are from the forests far northeast, beyond the Bluemire hills. Despite their foul smell, and their sometimes frightening initial encounters for unexperienced travelers, they have similar emotional and intellectual capacity to humans. Most are friendly to humans and do not appear to mean them any harm.
This does not mean that they have received the same treatment from humans, leading them to pursue careers in the employment of unsavory characters (such as witches). Not that their diet costs them a lot of gold, as they mostly eat grub meat, but on very rare occasions they consume the finest delicacy of all goblin cuisine: void mayonnaise. This delicacy is so important to goblins that they might even betray their employer’s wishes to get their hands on it.
 | Void Mayonnaise |
There are three ways to get void mayonnaise. The first way is through crafting, by putting a void egg inside the Mayonnaise Machine for 3 hours. The second way is to from fishing in the Witch’s Swamp, each cast has a 25% chance of reeling in the item you need. Lastly, if you just want to pay for one you can just buy a void egg from Krobus for 5,000 gold.
Giving the Goblin what he wants
After you give the Henchman a jar of void mayonnaise he will announce that he cannot resist the delicacy and to give him it! Then, the goblin will let you pass and enter the Witch’s Hut.
Enter the hut swiftly, and the Magic Ink for the Wizard will be inside the purple bottle on the table. The Witch is not inside so you will not have to worry about her when you get the ink. Pick it up and bring it back to the Wizard’s Tower to fully complete the quest.
Quest Rewards
Finishing quest unlocks some huge benefits that will completely change your gameplay for the better. These rewards include Wizard-themed buildings and three Dark shrines located in the Witch’s hut.
Wizard Buildings
The wizard buildings you can unlock for your farm now are described in the table below.
| Building Name | Cost to Build | Building Size | Description |
 Junimo Hut | 20,000 gold, 200 stone, 9 starfruit, 100 fiber | 3×2 | Allows junimos to harvest crops that are placed around the hut. |
 Gold Clock | 10,000,000 gold | 3×2 | Keeps fences from decaying and debris from appearing on your farm. |
 Desert Obelisk | 1,000,000 gold, 20 iridium bars, 10 coconut, 10 cactus fruit | 3×2 | Allows you to warp to the desert. |
 Water Obelisk | 500,000 gold, 5 iridium bars, 10 clams, 10 corals | 3×2 | Allows you to warp to the beach. |
 Island Obelisk | 1,000,000 gold, 10 iridium bars, 10 dragon teeth, 10 bananas | 3×2 | Allows you to warp to Ginger Island. |
 Earth Obelisk | 500,000 gold, 10 iridium bars, 10 earth crystals | 3×2 | Allows you to warp to the mountain area. |
Dark Shrines
The Dark Shrines you can now access are described in the table below.
| Shrine Name | Offering Required | Results |
 Dark Shrine of Night Terrors | Strange Bun | Toggles on and off the magical protection seal on your farm, allowing monsters to appear on your farm at night. This works on all farm maps. |
 Dark Shrine of Memory | 30,000 gold | Completely removes your ex-spouses from memory, like your character and the NPC’s never met. |
 Dark Shrine of Selfishness | Prismatic Shard | Completely removes your children from the game, by “turning them into doves and having them fly away” |
