Who Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Stench Of Treachery Traitor Is

Players have their work cut out for them finding the real traitor in the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla quest “The Stench of Treachery.” Presented with the task of choosing the likeliest culprit among three plausible suspects, players are given the freedom to choose incorrectly – and face the consequences. To avoid condemning an innocent to death, every clue must be examined carefully.

“The Stench of Treachery” is a chapter in the “The Song of Soma,” a longer story following Soma’s exploits in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Soma is a warrior of the Sámi, a people indigenous to the northern reaches of Scandinavia famous for their reindeer herding. In the course of her adventuring in the service of King Guthrum, Soma joined up with the legendary Great Heathen Army, a Viking faction occupying swaths of England. By the time of Eivor’s quest in England, Soma is a leader of the troops stationed in Grantebridgescire. Soma pledges to aid Eivor on their journey, but the allegiance is a two-way street and the Sámi warrior is in need. She suspects that one of her three closest attendants has sold her out to the Anglo-Saxons. But which one?

Eivor’s questing in Grantebridgescire culminates in helping Soma unseat the Anglo-Saxon earl Wigmund. A few quests into “The Song of Soma,” and Eivor and Soma have Wigmund in custody. But their victory is short-lived: someone in Soma’s inner circle lets the earl escape. It’s up to players to piece together exactly who among the Viking captains Birna, Galinn, and Lif has the weakest alibi, strongest motive, and most incriminating evidence. The trail of clues leads to some secret tunnels and an Assassin’s Creed Valhalla longboat painted yellow for Wigmund to escape on. It’s a lot to keep in mind, especially for players who want to avoid sending an innocent to their death – or allowing the traitor to continue wreaking havoc. The whole whodunnit can take upwards of an hour for players to untangle, and even then it can be hard to be absolutely certain.

Valhalla: Following The Yellow Trail To The Real Traitor

However, there is an answer to this Assassin’s Creed Valhalla mystery. Galinn has no alibi, wants to take Soma down, and is caught yellow-handed. In fact, Galinn’s very first action in the quest is deeply suspicious. The story begins like many Viking stories do, with an Anglo-Saxon prisoner’s interrogation. Just when the Englishman finally breaks and starts dishing on his co-conspirators, Galinn kills him. Everyone turns to him, confused by this apparent act of mercy. He excuses himself by unconvincingly claiming that the prisoner was about to cast a Christian curse on them all, which Soma and her crew shrug off despite Birna’s objection that “Christians don’t curse.” This fishy moment at first seems like a possible red herring (yellow herring?) but with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that Galinn was afraid that he would be implicated by the captive’s rambling.

Naturally, pinning the crime on Galinn will result in the “best” ending to this Assassin’s Creed Valhalla quest. However, players who like to sow a little chaos are allowed to accuse someone else without getting punished with a fail state. If either Birna or Lif are scapegoated, they’ll face a swift execution. Galinn will then attack whomever wasn’t just killed, kicking off a battle with Galinn. The most meaningful outcome of a “bad” ending to this quest is that Birna cannot join Eivor’s crew, now – especially if she is dead.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla offers players a host of consequential decisions to let them make Eivor their own. Quests like “The Stench of Treachery” show off the best of what the game has to offer with its memorable characters, lack of hand-holding, and lethal consequences.

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