Salt Reaches

The thread of the Blight did not snap in the Cradle — it runs south, and the first thing in its way is the floor of a departed sea. Everything here is salty: the water, the wounds, even the prayers the tide reads in the Sunken Temple. Only someone who has laid the Mother of Nightmares to rest is let in, and the Reach holds on by four campfires — each with its own people and its own errands.

Salt Marshes (from level 66) — “Salt keeps everything that drowned”. Salt armor and poison: crabs take the blows, toads poison. Found here: Salt Crab, Brine Toad, Reed Stalker, Bog Leech, Salt Phantom, Gull Imp and Boat Golem. The pack is led by Brine Witch and Crustmaw; Mother of Salt waits in the lair. The people’s camp is the Saltmakers' Campfire: errands are given there. Vedana, the head salt-boiler, waits at the fire. Besides the three common errands, this campfire has a story of its own: “Bitter Salt” (slay 6 Brine Toads — their venom poisoned the saltworks), “Flooded Saltworks” (reach the flooded saltworks and find the book of Vedana's husband).

Sunken Temple (from level 70) — “Here the tide reads the prayers”. Ink and tentacles: priests poison, knights hold the line. Found here: Temple Eel, Coral Knight, Ink Priest, Shell Tick, Drowned Acolyte, Bubble Jellyfish and Statue Crab. The pack is led by Oracle of the Tide and Serpent of the Columns; Bishop of the Abyss waits in the lair. The people’s camp is the Campfire by the Temple Steps: errands are given there. Brother Ilmar, the last servant of the temple, waits at the fire. Besides the three common errands, this campfire has a story of its own: “Tide Bell” (strike the Tide Bell in the middle of the temple), “Drowned Acolytes” (return the souls of three creatures of the Sunken Temple).

Coral Graveyard (from level 74) — “The sea left and abandoned its dead”. Bones and ghosts: fragile, but they hit hard. Found here: Bone Fish, Coral Lurker, Sand Ray, Whale Wisp, Pearl Beetle, Skeleton Crab and Drifting Wraith. The pack is led by Reef Warden and Leviathan Calf; Whalebone Lich waits in the lair. The people’s camp is the Whale Campfire: errands are given there. Gorm, the old whaler, waits at the fire. Besides the three common errands, this campfire has a story of its own: “The Bone Shoal” (slay 8 Bone Fish — the shoal keeps Gorm away from the skeleton), “Whale Skeleton” (reach the whale skeleton and find the harpoon of Gorm's son).

Lighthouse of the Drowned (from level 78) — “A light that leads to the bottom”. Fog and storm: fast hounds and vicious drowned. Found here: Lantern Gull, Drowned Sailor, Cliff Siren, Barnacle Brute, Fog Hound, Anchor Ghost and Hollow Keeper. The pack is led by Storm Captain and Kraken Tentacle; Devourer of Light waits in the lair. The people’s camp is the Keeper's Campfire: errands are given there. Irya, the lighthouse keeper, waits at the fire. Besides the three common errands, this campfire has a story of its own: “Fog Hounds” (slay 6 Fog Hounds — they drive travellers toward the cliff), “Lantern Gallery” (climb to the lantern gallery and learn whom the lighthouse shines for).

Chapter 5, “The Reaches”: each of the four campfires gives three errands — “The Approaches” (fell 15 creatures of the land), “Pack Leaders” and “Lord of the Land”. Whoever closes every errand of the Reach earns the title “Warden of the Salt Reaches”.

The Reach’s finale: after the last lord, at the Keeper's Campfire, the Keeper chooses how the story ends. “Light the Lighthouse” — the lighthouse shines again — but for the living now: ships will return to the shore, and salt will be worth trading again (battle gold in the Salt Reaches +15%, title “Keeper of the Lighthouse”); “Put It Out Forever” — the lighthouse goes dark forever. The drowned no longer walk toward the light — and at last they fall asleep (chance to return a soul in the Salt Reaches +8%, title “Who Laid the Deep to Rest”). The choice is made once.