Jackal
Warder · Old Camp
"Why, protection, of course! As long as you're in my district, I'll make sure you're safe."
Jackal's charity
Jackal introduces himself with a sales pitch, offering a little charity for poor souls like the Hero in exchange for ten nuggets. Membership means protection: if a New Camper or an angry Loon causes trouble, or if the Hero fights another digger, Jackal will help the member first.
If two members fight each other, he will simply pop open a beer and cheer you on.
His district runs from the market to the south gate. Fletcher and Bloodwyn divide the rest of the Outer Ring, so Jackal's promise is local rather than a guarantee over the whole camp.
Protection with conditions
Jackal says there is no ultimatum if a new arrival cannot pay yet. The protection simply remains limited to paying members.
Once the Hero pays, Jackal confirms the membership and promises to keep him out of trouble, but he still expects ore as tribute and turns the Hero away empty-handed if he arrives without any: is this a joke? I don't see any ore. Come back when you've got it.
A member who turned coat
If the Hero later sides against the Old Camp, Jackal confronts him with contempt. He is not surprised by the betrayal because the Hero was never cut out to be one of us,
and he mocks the rumours that the Loons went crazy when their ritual failed.
When the Hero calls the mine raid a mistake, Jackal disagrees—it looks successful from where he stands—and rallies his men to fight.
What other NPCs say
Jesse, Kirgo, Orry, and Thorus mention Jackal when discussing protection demands in the Old Camp. The word 'donations' is treated as a threat rather than a voluntary payment, so Jackal's name stands for the everyday extortion used to keep the outer ring obedient. Jesse warns that Jackal's so-called “donations” are not really requests: refusing them means the warders will make life difficult for the debtor.