Casting Shadows

Quest · Chapter 1 · Old Camp

Quest Parts

  • Casting Shadows:
  • I could help Dexter.:
  • I could get Fingers to vouch for me.:
  • I could try and convince Fisk.:
  • I could impress Scatty.:
  • I could get Sly to recommend me.:
  • I need supporters among the Shadows.:
  • Thorus has a task for me.:
  • I could help Whistler get his sword back.:

Reputation jobs

Dexter sends you to the Swamp Camp to obtain Cor Kalom's dreamjuice recipe. Kalom will only discuss it with someone presenting themselves as a Brotherhood recruit. The recipe names Seraphis, swampweed, and minecrawler ichor; Dexter pays when you bring it back.

Fingers wants proof that you can handle a lock. His specific job is to take the ring from the large chest in Scatty's hut and bring it to him. He gives his recommendation after seeing the ring.

Scatty uses the arena for his test. He names Kirgo, Kharim, and Gor Hanis as possible opponents, and his reaction changes depending on whether you win or lose.

Sly asks you to look into the disappearance of the warder Nek. He promises his recommendation after you find him; bring Nek's amulet as proof.

Whistler asks you to buy his ornate sword from Fisk. He gives you nuggets for the purchase and expects the sword returned, not the money kept.

How the reputation is checked

Diego checks the opinions of Scatty, Whistler, and Sly. Your result depends on which reputation jobs you complete and how those jobs turn out.

A reputation assembled from contradictions

The Old Camp's Shadows are not a single kind of criminal. Dexter values a useful secret, Fingers values the quiet hand, Scatty values courage in the arena, Sly values persistence in the search for Nek, and Whistler values a promise kept. Diego listens to all of them because no one job can prove that an outsider will survive the camp's competing demands.

The jobs also force the hero to move through the colony's informal economy. A recipe is stolen from a rival camp, a ring is lifted from a chest, a missing warder is traced through rumors, and a sword is bought under another man's name. Each success gives the hero a witness, but each one also teaches that reputation is built from choices made when the official rules are not enough.

Becoming a Shadow

When Diego weighs the reports, he is deciding whether the hero can operate in uncertainty. A good Shadow knows when to fight, when to lie, when to return something entrusted to them, and when a small object is worth more than a public victory. The title is less about hiding in darkness than about moving through the Old Camp without exposing the interests behind every request.

Passing the reputation checks opens Thorus's next task and brings the hero closer to Gomez. The camp offers belonging, but only after the newcomer has demonstrated that they can become useful inside its web of secrets without being consumed by it.

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