Naughty’s request for a trekking pole in Heartopia sounds simple, but it hides behind random story quests and vague directions. The result is a short but easy-to-miss gossip quest that many players never see.
Everything hinges on three things: triggering the right story deliveries, catching the orange gossip icon on your map, and knowing which NPC to question about the trekking pole.
How to unlock the Treasure Hunt gossip quest
The trekking pole is tied to a specific gossip quest named Treasure Hunt. It does not unlock from your level, and you cannot force it with a specific day or time. Progress is gated by story requests that roll at random.
Step 1: Play normally until you receive a story request that asks you to deliver materials to Cassie. The exact items are not shown to you, and the request appears on its own schedule.
Step 2: On a different day, complete a separate story request to deliver materials to Naughty. This is a second, distinct story delivery and is also random.
Step 3: After you have finished both of these material delivery story quests, watch your map for an orange gossip quest icon. This icon is what signals that Treasure Hunt is available.
Step 4: When the orange icon appears near Naughty’s location, track it and head to him to start the gossip quest.
Naughty is found on Onsen Mountain, on the northern side, standing on one of the wooden walkways that lead down toward the beach. You can use the in-game tracking feature to pin him on the map so you do not have to search manually.
What Naughty asks you to do
Speaking with Naughty on Onsen Mountain starts the Treasure Hunt gossip. He wants you to find a trekking pole, but he cannot remember where it was left.
During the dialogue, Naughty narrows the possibilities to two areas: the Fishing Village or the Flower Fields. The quest does not mark a specific point in either location, so if you wander blindly, you can lose a lot of time combing the map with no progress.
The actual solution is not to scour every tile of either area. Instead, you need information from another villager.
Where to go for the trekking pole lead
The turning point for the quest is in the Flower Fields, not the Fishing Village. To move the quest forward, you need to talk to the NPC who manages the fields.
Step 1: Open your map and set a course for the Flower Fields, the area with the windmills on the left-hand side of the map.
Step 2: Once you arrive, walk uphill toward the windmills. On the slope and around the hilltop, you can find Vernie, a red‑haired NPC who looks after the fields and camps in this area.
Step 3: Talk to Vernie and choose the option that asks about the trekking pole. A short conversation confirms that she knows exactly what you mean and that the pole was left somewhere out in the fields.
Vernie’s dialogue is the key. You are not picking up a visible trekking pole object from the ground after this; the important part is that you have obtained the information Naughty wanted. Once you have spoken to Vernie about the pole, your next stop is back on Onsen Mountain.
Finishing Treasure Hunt and claiming the reward
Step 1: Return to Onsen Mountain and talk to Naughty again. Make sure you have already completed the conversation with Vernie about the trekking pole before you go back.
Step 2: Tell Naughty what you learned. He treats your report as the resolution of his treasure hunt, and the gossip quest wraps up immediately.
Step 3: After the dialogue, collect your reward: a Retro Desk Lamp for your home.
The Retro Desk Lamp is a decorative furniture item. It does not change your stats or unlock new mechanics, but it contributes to your collection records. For players who want to log every unique furniture piece, Treasure Hunt becomes mandatory. If you are not interested in that specific aesthetic and do not mind leaving gaps in your collection, the quest is optional.
Why the trekking pole quest is easy to miss
Several small design choices combine to make this simple objective surprisingly opaque.
- Random story gating means you can play for a long time before the Cassie and Naughty delivery requests appear in the right order.
- No explicit item pickup gives the impression you should be searching for a physical trekking pole model in the world, even though progressing the quest only requires a conversation.
- Two possible locations from Naughty’s hint split your attention between the Fishing Village and Flower Fields. Only the Flower Fields actually matter.
- Unmarked NPC logic leaves Vernie as just another villager unless you know she is the one with the answer.
Once you know that the solution is to visit Vernie in the Flower Fields and then report back, the entire quest takes only a few minutes. The real challenge is getting it to appear and realizing it hinges on gossip rather than a scavenger hunt.
If you are chasing every collectible and trying to see all of Heartopia’s small, character-driven events, it is worth keeping an eye on the orange gossip markers after you finish deliveries for Cassie and Naughty. One of those markers eventually leads to this quiet little treasure hunt, a short detour that ends with a Retro Desk Lamp and another tick on your collection list.
