Become Rich

**Become Rich** is a personal quest.

> I want to gather enough dragon bones to retire early and live in prosperity and safety.
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## Tasks

One path to completing **Become Rich** is to possess 100 . Once that is done, at your next sleep, you will have the option to "bank" it (meaning you cannot use those 100  for the rest of the game) or keep it with you.

The other path to completing **Become Rich** is much less direct. First you have to tell Tulia that you have found Asterion. If Tulia is still at the military camp, then this is only possible if you have been to High Island. Once Tulia moves to Pelt of the North, you have the additional option of lying to her. Tulia will then give you Asterion's belongings, including a mysterious large bottle. To find out more about this bottle, first attempt to sell it to Iason but do not follow through. Iason will tell you that it contains (cheap) wine.

Next, accumulate sufficient friendship with Thais and/or Howler's Dell reputation. If Thais is willing to ask you to help clear the path to the Fishing Hamlet, then you have enough. Then and only then, ask Thais about the bottle of wine. (If you try to sell the wine to Akakios he will suggest you ask Thais.) She will tell you that the bottle is that of Night's Bane. Again, do not sell the wine to Thais. At your next sleep, you will complete **Become Rich**. (Even though the dialogue here indicates that you keep the wine in a box, it seems that you can still sell it to Foggy for a default of 40 . However, this may affect your ending.)

Regardless of path, when you complete **Become Rich** you will immediately gain 1 vitality and henceforth have a maximum of 5 vitality.

## Endings

### Return to Hovlavan

If you banked your coins, or possess the coins or wine to complete **Become Rich**, then you flourish:

> [..] rejected the routine of the cityfolk, building a new one instead, slowly gathering returns from their risky investments - two steps forward, one step back. From time to time they used their growing connections in the merchant guild to find employment, more from boredom than need, and used the extra savings to surround themselves with delights and safety. Years later, they became famous for offering work to the ambitious, new generation of adventurers. Not one of them could tell they were speaking with an ex-rider.
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Otherwise (assuming you do not fail Explore the Peninsula too badly) you will be given a dialogue choice. If you choose to 'look for some work for the colder months' then there are three possible outcomes depending on your equipment. Interestingly you only die in the intermediate outcome, where you have fine equipment.

Impressive equipment:

> [..] didn’t return to their routine of a cityfolk, instead taking more risky tasks for the merchant guild. Thanks to their impressive equipment, decent combat experience, and resolve, they spent the remaining few decades among the high-ranking guards, though preferring to take care of things by themselves, rather than command the others. Those years were unremarkable, yet comfortable.
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Fine equipment:

> [..] quickly returned to their routine of a cityfolk, taking the harsh jobs in the harbor. Every now and then, their decent equipment and combat experience allowed them to get a riskier task from the merchant guild, but they lacked resolve to commit to any trade for long. They lived for a few boring, unremarkable years, finding their end on a road, during a robbery.
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Lacking/poor equipment:

> [..] quickly returned to their routine of a cityfolk, taking the harsh jobs in the harbor. They lived a long, unremarkable life, looking after their horse and struggling to find a well-paying job.
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Otherwise, if you choose to 'live comfortably until spring', then your death is certain (well, more so than for most of us). The details depend on your equipment.

Impressive equipment:

> [..] rejected the routine of the cityfolk, spending their savings with little care, then taking the riskiest jobs for riders. Thanks to their impressive equipment, decent combat experience, and resolve, they spent a decade as a competent mercenary, until the weight of years and scars made them join a group of treasure-hunting adventurers. Their final trip was meant to bring to the city a whole dragon corpse.
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Fine/lacking/poor equipment:

> [..] rejected the routine of the cityfolk, spending their savings with little care, then taking the riskiest jobs for riders. After a few violent years, their life, full of colorful memories of duty and pleasure, ended with a single mistake.
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### Not return to Hovlavan

During the epilogue, if you possess the coins or wine needed to complete it or if you completed **Become Rich** previously (even if you don't currently have the coins or wine), you will be given the following dialogue options. If you choose 'This is my choice. Giving up on wealth, but gaining freedom.' then you will **abandon** Become Rich. If you choose 'It can’t be true. I’ll find a way, figure out a plan that will lead me to wealth.' then you will **complete** Become Rich.

If you never completed **Become Rich** and if you do not currently possess the items needed to complete it, we will say (for the purposes of this article) that you **fail** Become Rich.

Next, there are several triggers (relating to the state of the Nameless Peninsula) which guarantee your death. If any of those are triggered, part of your ending depends on how you completed **Become Rich** (if at all).

If you abandoned **Become Rich**:

> [..] abandoned their dream of finding a way to live without risk and effort. Instead, they focused on the matters at hand - looking after their mount, patrolling the desolate paths, and keeping the quarreled tribes connected.
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If you failed or completed **Become Rich**:

> [..] was convinced they could still start a prospering, safe trade in the North that would take little effort to maintain, but to accomplish this, they kept looking for ways to gather even greater wealth. Another job here, a saved coin there, just one more lie, just one sleepless night...
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Even if none of the aforementioned triggers occur, you can still die. If you abandoned **Become Rich**, survival is guaranteed. The epilogue text depends on which village you chose to settle in (or if you chose to live on the road).

If you completed **Become Rich**, whether you survive depends on your equipment and the level of peace in the Nameless Peninsula. If you survive, your epilogue begins as follows:

> [..] was still hoping that they could start a prospering, safe outpost in the North, but to accomplish this, they kept looking for ways to gather even greater wealth. Another job here, a saved coin there, just one more lie, just one sleepless night... Their fate was predictable. After adding one bundle too many to their saddle, they failed to avoid a hungry pack of wolves, and while their sharp blade allowed them to escape, they reached their shelter with heavy wounds, and lost a leg soon after.
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The above text is followed by either

> But since the northern tribes were also growing in luxuries as the roads were getting safer, the once-rider turned out to be truly ready. Thanks to the investments they set up at every village, they could spend their remaining years enjoying their rest, and only occasionally chatting with the caravan guides or making rather quirky requests toward passing adventurers and mercenaries. At this point, most people wouldn’t believe it if they were told that this thriving merchant used to be a roadwarden.
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or

> They saw a fine age, but their heart grew bitter, filled with dreams and questions.
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If your equipment and/or level of peace is insufficient, you die:

> [..] was convinced they could still start a prospering, safe trade in the North that would take little effort to maintain, but to accomplish this, they kept looking for ways to gather even greater wealth. Another job here, a saved coin there, just one more lie, just one sleepless night... Their end was predictable. After adding one bundle too many to their saddle, they failed to escape a hungry pack of wolves.
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If you failed **Become Rich**, you can only survive with impressive equipment and the highest level of peace:

> [..] was convinced they could still start a prospering, safe trade in the North that would take little effort to maintain, but to accomplish this, they kept looking for ways to gather even greater wealth. Another job here, a saved coin there, just one more lie, just one sleepless night... Their fate was predictable. After adding one bundle too many to their saddle, they failed to avoid a hungry pack of wolves, and while their sharp blade allowed them to escape, they reached their shelter with heavy wounds, and lost a leg soon after. They saw a fine age, but their heart grew bitter, filled with dreams and questions.
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Otherwise you die:

> [..] was hoping that they could still start a prospering, safe trade in the North that would take little effort to maintain, but to accomplish this, they kept looking for ways to gather even greater wealth. Another job here, a saved coin there, just one more lie, just one sleepless night... Their end was predictable. After adding one bundle too many to their saddle, they failed to escape a hungry pack of wolves.
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