Shrike

Rogue · New Camp

"Piss off."

A squatter's bargain

Shrike is a bandit squatting in a hut near the edge of the New Camp's cavern. He knows the hut belongs to the mercenaries, but he wants a place to sleep and has no intention of leaving because a stranger asks him politely.

The stolen hut

Shrike answers the Hero's greeting with Piss off and refuses to move when challenged. The dispute ends in a fight rather than a negotiation: after he is beaten, he complains that the Hero wants the hut and insists that the matter is not over.

His later routine changes, but the conversation leaves his position clear—he is occupying someone else's shelter and treating force as the only argument that matters.

Quest involvement

  • A Roof Over My Head: He points you to a mercenary hut on the cavern edge that the bandit Shrike has taken over. Force Shrike out, then report to Gorn. I could take Shrike's hut.

What other NPCs say

Gorn mentions Shrike while explaining that every hut is occupied, then presents taking Shrike's hut as the available solution. The later instruction to teach Shrike a lesson makes the context explicit: housing in the New Camp is scarce enough that a personal fight can decide who gets a place to live.

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