The Old Woman of Heggem is the first story NPC most players meet. She stays near the outskirts of Heggem and mistakes the Courier for a rescuer sent by the Church. Her quest is simple: she wants news of her son Jerry, and the item that settles it is a coat the Courier finds in the field. The quest side (flags, the coat, the later dog) is The Woman Looking for Her Child; this page covers her dialog.
Dialog options#
When the Courier arrives she is relieved that someone crossed the Dark Mist. A menu with several topics follows. Topics marked with a gold color in the text are the ones that move the quest forward.
| Option | What she tells you (summary) |
|---|---|
| Have you seen other strangers? | Her son Jerry is gone; everyone has turned into monsters. |
| What is going on here? | The light of Heggem is fading and cannot hold back the Sendrils; the Disciples of the town have decayed into monsters. |
| Is Jerry your son? (appears after the first topic) | He went outside to play with the John brothers, who are now monsters. This is the topic that opens the search quest. |
| How did you keep yourself safe? (after Jerry) | She admits she stole the treasure from the mine to look for Jerry, swore to bring it back, and asks the Courier to help. |
| Hand over the Gore-stained Coat | She recognizes her son's coat, accepts that he is gone, and gives the Courier something in return. |
She also tells the story of the Disciples: a Courier took the survivors into a mine, where a treasure with a bright light drove the Sendrils off. They hid there waiting for the Church. She came out alone looking for Jerry, who had left on his own.
After the Jerry topic you can promise to see what you can do, which shows the "Find Jerry" quest log entry, or say you have no time. Declining ends the talk; afterwards she only murmurs about Jerry.
Items#
- Gore-stained Coat (item 10001): a torn, bloodied coat. Giving it to her removes it from the bag.
- Crystal Debris (trophy 60026): her thank-you gift. The trophy glitters, refreshes energy and keeps the Marred away. Receiving it also sets the Tale flag 95011.
Hidden mechanics#
- Her dialog is driven entirely by quest flags. When there is nothing new to say she repeats a single lament about her lost son, and that line stops showing once the coat is handed over (hide flag 15007).
- The topics set "read" flags (90001-90007), which are used to track which topics you have already seen; they do not give rewards.
- Chapter 1 has a second Tale (95012), so chapter 1 supplies two of the 11 Tales needed for the Witness achievement. The second one is The Tear of Heggem.
Sources#
- Table
StoryMonster: story 1, monster 1017 (hero 20009). Dialog entry11067;11085, hidden after quest 14001. - Table
StoryDialog: story 1 dialogs 11067-11089 and 12067-12082. - Table
StoryQuest: 15007 (removes item 10001), 15044 (item 60026 x1), 95011 (action type 30, achievement 12009), 15006 (quest message 20102 "Find Jerry"). - Table
ItemData10001; tableTrophyData60026;Achievementid 12009.