Horatio
Peasant · New Camp
"The best self defense is runnin' away. Crackin' skulls won't make you any happier."
A farmer who can fight
Horatio confronts the Hero on first meeting and asks whether he is looking for trouble. If the Hero stays calm and says he is new, Horatio softens; every day another fool arrives looking for a fight.
If the Hero needles him about being a rice farmer, Horatio warns that working the fields does not make him helpless and offers a beating.
The oath
Horatio is done fighting pointless fights, which is what brought him to the Colony. He recounts a drunken brawl in which he accidentally killed a man by knocking his head against cobblestone, then shouted at the body to get up before understanding that it would not.
He swore never to attack anyone again, although he still considers teaching different from striking a person himself.
Why the New Camp
Horatio describes Gomez and the Old Camp's warders as bloodhounds fleecing diggers of every last nugget. He thinks the Swamp Camp's Loons are decent enough but does not believe their Sleeper doctrine, calling them poor souls looking for hope where there is none.
He is unsure whether the Water Mages' plan will work, but the uncertainty does not trouble him as much as it might: he has found his peace and suggests the Hero try to do the same.
Strength for a just cause
Horatio teaches strength only when the Hero says he intends to take on the Rice Lord and his goons. He refuses lessons aimed at self-defence or respect, warning that the Hero could become another bully: before you know it, you have another bastard on your hands.
Afterward he insists that strength be used for a just cause and only for that. He also thanks the Hero for bringing water sent by Lefty, saying he was just about to drink the mud.
What other NPCs say
Jeremiah names Horatio while discussing who might stand up to the New Camp's dominant figures. He is remembered as someone who once had the strength to resist, but imprisonment and the camp's harsh conditions have softened that defiance, making his absence politically significant.