Key Locations

Basic Skeleton Key

Three keys gate your progress through the mall and the local store in Welcome to Elderfield, and none of them are hidden behind a puzzle. They are simply placed in spots players walk past because the game never flags them as important. I have watched too many runs stall at a locked door because the player assumed the key was a quest reward.

This guide covers exactly where each key spawns or is sold, in the order I recommend grabbing them, so you can clear the mall and store section in one sweep instead of three separate trips.

Key	Location	Notes
Key 1	Burgers Burgers kitchen, Food Court	Found on the kitchen counter/prep area
Key 2	Local store	Bought from an NPC
Key 3	Lower office, mall back hallways	Found on the counter

Key 1: Burgers Burgers Kitchen in the Food Court

The first key sits inside the Burgers Burgers kitchen, which is attached to the mall Food Court. You do not need to fight anything to reach it — the Food Court is open and the kitchen is walkable.

1. Head to the mall Food Court.
2. Enter the Burgers Burgers restaurant and walk behind the counter into the kitchen.
3. Check the kitchen surfaces — the key is sitting out, not in a container.

Do this one first. The Food Court is also the access point for the mall mines, so if you are already routing toward the mall vending machine tomes or the room of nezroth, you can fold this pickup into the same trip.

Tip: I grab Key 1 the moment I first pass through the Food Court, even if I have no immediate use for it. Coming back later costs more time than the ten seconds it takes to duck into the kitchen.

Key 2: Buy It From the NPC in the Local Store

Key 2 is the only one that costs money. An NPC in the local store sells it directly, so bring enough gold before you walk in.

1. Go to the local store.
2. Talk to the NPC vendor.
3. Buy the key from their stock.

This is the step that trips people up, because the key is buried in a vendor list rather than handed over through dialogue. If you talk to the NPC and nothing happens, open the shop menu and scroll — it is a purchase, not a conversation reward.

Note: Gold spent here is gold you cannot spend on ritual tomes or the emerald ring from smoffes. I buy Key 2 early anyway, since a locked door blocks more progress than a missing stat ring.

Key 3: Lower Office in the Mall Back Hallways

The third key is the easiest to miss. It sits on the counter in the lower office, tucked into the mall back hallways rather than any main floor.

1. Enter the mall back hallways.
2. Find the stairs or path down to the lower office.
3. Check the counter — the key is placed on top of it.

Because the back hallways branch, I treat this as the last pickup and clear the office on my way out rather than detouring mid-route. If you are already exploring the mall hallways for god rooms, this is a natural stop.

My Recommended Pickup Order

Order	Key	Why This Order
1	Key 1 (Burgers Burgers kitchen)	Free, on the way through the Food Court
2	Key 2 (local store NPC)	Costs gold — buy before you spend elsewhere
3	Key 3 (lower office counter)	Deepest location, best saved for last

I run this order because it moves from the most accessible key to the least. Key 1 requires no gold and no navigation; Key 2 requires gold you should not have already spent; Key 3 requires walking the back hallways, which you may want to do anyway for other mall content.

Warning: Do not assume the keys are interchangeable. Each one opens its own lock, so skipping one does not mean the others cover for it.

• Assuming the keys are quest rewards. They are not. Two are world pickups and one is a purchase.
• Skipping the local store NPC dialogue. The key is in the shop inventory, not the conversation text.
• Missing the lower office entirely. If you only walk the mall's main floors, you will never see Key 3.
• Spending all your gold first. Buy Key 2 before dumping money into rituals or gear.

FAQ

Do I need any prerequisites to get these keys? No. All three are available without prior quests or unlocks.

Can I buy Key 2 later if I skip it now? Yes, the NPC keeps selling it, but you will have to make a second trip to the store.

Is Key 3 in a locked room? No — it is on the counter in the lower office, reachable through the mall back hallways.

Which key should I get first? Key 1 from the Burgers Burgers kitchen, since it is free and sits on your natural path through the Food Court.

Steel Key — Eldritch Prank quest

Separate from the mall trio. Finish the Eldritch Prank branch (failed babysitter → pumpkin kid):

1. Pour Supernatural Slime into bottles at Amelia & Martin's house
2. Turn in to pumpkin head in the park
3. Reward: Steel Key → upper-left door inside Martin's house

Adrian's food court key is unrelated — see Clear Tentacles.

Final Thoughts

None of these three keys are hard to find once you know where to look — the difficulty is entirely in the game not telling you they exist. Grab the kitchen key on your first Food Court pass, buy the store key before your gold disappears into rituals, and sweep the lower office on your way through the back hallways. Do that, and you will never stand in front of a locked door wondering where you went wrong.