Pale Oil is a rare item required to upgrade Hornet’s sword a second time in Hollow Knight: Silksong — you’ll be able to upgrade after fixing up the town of Bellhart by completing wishes. Once you’ve fixed the town enough, the Pinsmith door will unlock and you’ll be able to use their services. The first weapon upgrade is free, but the second upgrade is going to take a lot more effort. Talk to the Pinsmith multiple times after unlocking the first upgrade, and she’ll give you a wish to find Pale Oil.
Pale Oil is one of the most difficult items in the game to find — and there’s more than one. But the earliest you can get is found in the Choral Chambers of the Citadel. You’ll have to complete the longest, most involved quest in the game so far. Here’s how to finish the “Great Taste of Pharloom” wish.
For more details on weapon upgrades, here’s how to find the Pinmaster.
Where To Find Pale Oil
The Pale Oil item is required to unlock the second damage upgrade for your sword. The Pinmaster in Bellhart requires the oil to upgrade your sword — the rare item is found deep in the Choral Chambers of the Citadel.
- Pale Oil Location: The Pale Oil is located in the dining room area of the Choral Chambers — it’s to the right of the Citadel Spa. The room on the map is marked with dining tables.
- This area only becomes available after reaching the First Shrine and defeating the Cogwork Dancers boss.
At the Dining Room, go to the right side and attack the glass container. This wakes up Loyal Mergwin. Talk to him to begin the quest “Great Taste of Pharloom” — he requests five food items in exchange for the Pale Oil.
To help make this quest easier, here’s where to find each of the five food items.
Where To Find Vintage Nectar
Vintage Nectar: Found in Greymoor at the tavern called Halfway Home. Talk to Creige the bartender and he’ll offer to sell the Vintage Nectar for 480 rosaries. There’s a trick to this transaction, though.
- After paying the price, Creige will open the cellar door. The Vintage Nectar is found at the bottom — but when Hornet tries to collect it, a large group of red ants will invade the cellar. You’ll need to fight and defeat several waves of tough enemies before you can take the Nectar.
Where To Find Mossberry Stew
Mossberry Stew: Given by the Moss Druid at the top of Bone Bottom — a side-quest will begin after talking to the Druid. Bring Mossberries to the Druid to complete the quest.
This is the simplest, quickest item to collect for the quest. Mossberries are relatively easy to find in the area and can be collected before this sidequest even starts.
Where To Find Crustnut
Crustnut: This rare item is located in the optional Sands of Karak area found above the Blasted Steps. It is located in the center of the area, directly beneath the Conchfly boss arena. Navigate the room marked above, cutting through breakable walls to reach this item.
- To reach Sands of Karak, go to the far west of Blasted Steps to the Spinstress NPC house. Use grapple, wall-jump and double-jump to platform above her hut and to the area entrance at the top of the screen.
Where To Find Pickled Muck Maggot
Picked Muck Maggot: Dropped by the chef optional boss in Sinner’s Road. The boss is located to the east of the large room with the hanging cages symbol on the map. Go to the room to the east (right) to find a kitchen. Ring the bell in the kitchen to initiate a fight against the bugs working here.
Defeat the first wave of bugs and Lugoli the Chef will appear. He’s a big bug that slams the ground and generates flobs of damaging green gunk. The green gunk poisons Hornet, preventing her from healing one time. It has three phases and becomes more aggressive with each phase. Defeat the chef to collect the Pickled Muck Maggot.
Where To Find Courier’s Rash
Courier’s Rasher: In Bellhart, after rescuing the citizens from the Widow boss and beginning the ‘Great Taste of Pharloom‘ quest, you’ll find a bug that needs help. Complete the quest to find the bug’s lost brother. Save him and he’ll return to Bellhart — he has a delivery for the Courier’s Rasher you must complete.
The tricky part of this quest is delivering the rasher. This food item quickly goes bad. You’ll have a limited time to reach the delivery in the Citadel’s dining area. Any damage you take also causes the food to spoil, so ideally you need to run from Bellhart to the Citadel without taking damage.
This is the most difficult step of the quest and may require some practice. This is easiest path we’ve found so far. Perform a dry run through this area, clearing out all enemies without using the bench. The enemies will not respawn unless you use a bench. It also helps to have double-jump to make this route much faster.
- Go right in Bellhart and ride the elevator up. At the top, go left through Shellwood, pass the bench, and pass through the Bellway to Blasted Steps.
- Climb up Blasted Steps and reach the Grand Gate. Go up and into the Choral Chambers.
- Go through the Citadel Spa to bypass enemies and reach the dining room. This path is a little tricky but there are no enemies here, so you can quickly reach your goal.
How To Make The Run Easier: Run through your route, defeat the enemies in your path without resting so they’re clear, then perform a real run with the Courier’s Rasher. With a little preparation you should be able to make the delivery with time to spare.
Deliver all five meals to complete the wish and earn the Pale Oil. Take the Pale Oil to the blacksmith NPC called the Pinmaster in Bellhart to finally earn an upgrade for your sword. The upgrade makes your sword attacks stronger, making this one of the best upgrades in the game.
