Admission to the Old Camp

Quest · Chapter 1 · Old Camp

Quest Parts

  • Admission to the Old Camp:
  • "Impress the most influential people in the Outer Ring," he said.:
  • I gotta find out how to join the Old Camp.:
  • I should improve my skills.:
  • I'm supposed to get the supply list from the Old Mine.:
  • I should talk to Thorus.:
  • I'm allowed to talk to Gomez now.:

What Diego actually asks for

Diego describes the Old Camp route as three parts: build a reputation with important people in the Outer Ring, complete his personal test, and improve your skills. There is no fixed checklist, so choose the reputation jobs that best fit your route. His supply-list test is also reused by the New Camp's admission route, even though the direct hand-in is part of Diego's Old Camp test.

Diego's direct test has a precise hand-in: go to Ian in the Old Mine and say the crawlers look mighty hungry. Ian gives you the supply list. Bring it back to Diego and keep the New Campers from getting hold of it; Diego says the list is needed for the next convoy. If you are taking the New Camp route instead, Lares can take the same list first, add false entries, and send it back to Diego as part of the admission plan.

Getting to Gomez

After Diego considers you ready, speak to Thorus at the castle entrance. Thorus is the gatekeeper for Gomez's audience and says that Diego's recommendation is what lets you through.

Gomez makes the final decision. Once he accepts you, he sends you to Raven for your first job inside the castle.

Reputation jobs

Several jobs can build your support: Dexter wants Cor Kalom's dreamjuice recipe; Fingers asks for the ring from Scatty's chest; Scatty can judge a fight in the arena; Sly asks you to look into the missing warder Nek; and Whistler asks you to recover his sword from Fisk.

These are separate reputation jobs, not five stages that must all be completed in one exact order. Complete the jobs that best fit your route through the Old Camp, then return to Diego when he considers you ready.

A place earned through witnesses

Diego's admission process reflects the Old Camp's layered power. He does not want a stranger who can merely fight; he wants someone whose name has reached the people who keep the camp running. Scatty, Fingers, Fisk, Sly, Whistler, and Dexter each see a different side of the newcomer, and their opinions become the evidence Diego uses when deciding whether to recommend them.

The supply-list test adds a political edge to that reputation. On the Old Camp route, the hero must use a countersign to reach Ian, protect the information from the New Camp, and carry it back without turning the errand into a public boast. On the New Camp route, Lares deliberately intercepts the same document and alters it before it returns to Diego. The list is therefore tied to both camps' struggle for control of the mine, not simply to finding a bed behind the Old Camp's walls.

A welcome from the men behind the gate

Once Diego is satisfied, Thorus controls the final threshold and Gomez makes the decision. Gomez's acceptance opens the castle and sends the hero to Raven, but it also places them inside the hierarchy that rules the Colony through ore, guards, and controlled access.

Admission is therefore a double achievement. The hero gains protection and a position among the Shadows, while agreeing to be measured by the same network of favors and authority that keeps other prisoners dependent on the Old Camp.

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