Still in development — details may change
Draft, not final. A pilot quest script, for the user to approve the format. See Quests: The First Two Hours for the rest.
Steps
| # | Objective (journal) | Completion trigger | Enemies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Follow the road to the light. | Player reaches the base of the rim via the gorge road. | None |
| 2 | (optional) Climb the rim face. | Shelf-rock climb reaches the rim top directly — a shortcut, not required. | None |
| 3 | Speak with the keeper. | Dialogue with Oram triggers. | None |
| 4 | (no journal line — automatic) | Oram tends Kade's wounds (full heal); the sensing beat plays — see Dialogue. | None |
| 5 | Look out from the rim. | Compass strip gains a mark for each of the four spires. | None |
| 6 | Look through the keeper's lens. | The side canyon and handcart are marked on the compass; hands off to OPEN 3. | None (bandits seen at distance only) |
The ways through
Mostly a single path, with one real choice: the gorge road is the safe route, and the shelf-rock climb on the rim face is a faster but optional shortcut — the game's first lesson that climbing is an alternative, not the only way. No combat in this quest.
Dialogue
Kade crests the rim, wounded. Oram doesn't look up from his lodestones at first.
Oram — "Don't just stand there bleeding on my rim. Sit."
Kade (quiet, wary) — "...Caravan's gone. All of it."
Oram — "I know. Smoke carries further than hope does, out here." (kneeling to tend the wounds) "Hold still."
A beat too long. Oram's hand pauses on Kade's arm — a look crosses his face, there and gone. He says nothing of it.
Oram — "There. You'll live, which is more than most manage on that road lately."
Kade — "...Thank you."
Oram — "Don't thank me yet. Come here — look."
He gestures out over the canyon maze toward the city, then to the four distant spires.
Oram — "Fire. Water. Earth. Wind. Four spires, four Guardians, and not one of them sleeping easy any more. You'll want to know them, where you're headed."
Kade — "...What's wrong with them?"
Oram — "Everything. Nothing I can fix by talking at you on a cold rim, though. Eat something first."
He hands over food. Through his glass, something catches his eye.
Oram — "Huh. Your friends from the road aren't finished with you yet."
Minor barks: none — Oram carries the whole scene; no other NPCs present.
Rewards
- The keeper's bonfire (2nd travel point)
- Food (flavour item; the heal itself is from the scripted full-heal, not an item effect)
- 75 XP (`game-design-doc.md`, OPEN 2 reward line)
- Kill XP: none — this quest has no enemies.
Notes for the build
- Oram's campsite: lodestones, a small fire, a keeper's spyglass prop (used in step 6).
- Rim-edge vista with a clear sightline to all four spires at the heights the Spire size table specifies.
- The sensing beat (step 4) needs a readable but silent beat — a held camera on Oram's face for about a second, no VFX, no dialogue. It must not tip the player off explicitly; this is reread on a second playthrough, not understood on a first.
- Shelf-rock climb route up the rim face, alongside the road, per the Climbing rules (stamina cost, short face).
- Cutscene camera for the keeper's-glass reveal of the side canyon (hands off to OPEN 3's marker).