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Background

This is a silver quest that will become available in the map room of the Heroes' Guild after you've completed either Protect Orchard Farm or Attack Orchard Farm. It requires a renown rating of at least 3.


Available Boasts

• No Protection
• Without a Scratch
• Fight Fighter
• Cave Dweller
• Sacrifice Innocent
• Protect Boy

Walkthrough

This quest starts out at Rose Cottage. The woman there will tell you that her grandson James has gone missing, and that he probably went to Hobbe Cave. She'll then give you a hexagon key to help you in your quest (it'll open a door in the cave).

In other words, this is going to be an escort quest, and that means you shouldn't do a lot of boasting. Just completing the mission can be difficult enough without handicapping yourself in any way. That being said, there isn't any reason not to take "cave dweller" (good) or "sacrifice innocent" (evil). You'll have to accomplish one of those two boasts to complete the quest anyway.

Once inside Hobbe Cave, you'll hear somebody yelling for help. That somebody isn't James. Instead, you'll find a bandit (#1) in the Side Chamber. After killing the Hobbes in the room, the bandit will offer to join up with you to search for gold. The bandit is a good ally to have. He'll help you kill Hobbes, and you can sacrifice him in the Focus Chamber to get James. The only downside to the bandit is that he'll demand 300 gold when you exit the cave, assuming he's still around.

In the Main Chamber, you'll discover two chests (#2) that weren't there before the quest started. Inside, you'll find 1000 gold coins and a flame augmentation.

You'll find James (#3) in the Focus Chamber, encased in some sort of stasis field. The nymph there will decide that if you want to take James, then she'll need a replacement for her planned sacrifice. If you don't want to give up the bandit, then you'll have to target and kill the nymph (easiest done with "lightning" or some other ranged attack). Once the nymph is dead, James will exit his stasis field and begin following you.

This is where the quest can get difficult. As you attempt to leave the cave, you'll be attacked by large numbers of Hobbes in the Moonlit Tunnel and the Cave Entrance. In fact, you'll be attacked by so many Hobbes that it'll be almost impossible to keep them off James, and you'll have to be pretty quick to keep him alive.

But there's a trick. Hobbes will spawn each time you enter the Moonlit Tunnel and the Cave Entrance, but they'll never be as plentiful as the first time you enter them. So tell James (and perhaps the bandit) to wait before you enter one of those rooms, then clear the room, then tell them to follow again, and then kill off the lesser spawn of Hobbes with James (and perhaps the bandit) in the room with you.

As long as you can get James out of the cave in one piece, you'll have completed the quest successfully, and you'll earn at least 400 renown and 5500 gold, plus gain the Hobbe Head trophy.

Note: When you return to Rose Cottage, the woman there will be waiting outside -- with the door to the cottage wide open. So this is your chance to loot the house. Inside you'll find a will potion and the book A Hero's Journey II.


1 - Captured Bandit


2 - Treasure Chests


3 - James and Nymph


Exits:

1. Exit to Greatwood Caves.
2. Doorway between Hobbe Cave Entrance and Cave Side Chamber.
3. Doorway between Hobbe Cave Entrance and Cave Larder.
4. Doorway between Hobbe Cave Entrance and the Main Chamber.
5. Doorway between the Main Chamber and the Moonlit Tunnel.
6. Doorway between the Moonlit Tunnel and the Focus Chamber.