Bran, the Rice Lord’s foreman, has disappeared without a trace. The new Camp is buzzing — someone says that he escaped with the ore, someone says that he was buried right in the fields. The neck-deep task will make you run: find a cave by the pond, fight with a couple of scumbags and dive into the icy water under the tavern. Yes, I’ll have to get wet.
We tell you how to start the quest, where to catch Malone, how to defeat Jayko, and most importantly, how to get into Silas’ locked basement without breaking the door.
Table of Contents
How to start the quest “Up to the Neck” in Gothic 1 Remake?
It all starts with the Rice Lord. Complete his previous task “One drop more” and he will give you the next one. Look for him in the building that overlooks the Rice Fields. He’ll ask you to deal with Bran.
Further advice will appear in the magazine: they say, local farmers know something. And here the most obvious option is Malone.
Where to find Malon in the Rice Fields?
Malone is easy to find: he is either swarming in the Rice Fields, or sticking out in a residential area nearby. Come up and ask about Bran. The answer is predictable — fists in the face. We’ll have to fight.
Win (the main thing here is not to screw up on the first levels), talk to Malone again. He will split up: Bran has gone to the cave by the pond. The one where Jako and Renya are cooking marshmallow.
If you specify exactly where, the NPC will say: just behind the camp, by the pond, where there are blood flies.
How to find the cave near the pond and defeat Jayko?
You went out through the main gate, go straight ahead. You will see a pond on the right, and next to it is the entrance to the cave. Renyu stands at the entrance. Talk to him about Bran, and he’ll miss it. Go deeper. At the end, you will be met by Jako. And immediately into a fight.
The fight with Jacko at the start is not a gift. But if you’ve followed the best start guide, scored a couple of levels, and learned early skills, then skip through. After the victory, ask him. It turns out that Bran may have gone after Silas’s hiding place—in the basement. To the question “how to get there?” Jacko will just shrug his shoulders: take a look around, they say.
How to get to Silas’s basement via the lake?
Silas is a tavern in the New Camp. You already know this from the quest “One drop more”. But how to get down? Not a word in the magazine.
The easiest way is to ask Ryke at the tavern. Give him a beer and give him 30 nuggets. He’ll say that the entrance is through the lake at the back.
No nuggets? Don’t pay. Go there yourself. Or try to pick the lock on the door behind Silas — but it’s more painful than going into the water.
Leave the tavern, walk around the building from the back to the lake. Jump, dive (the default C key). If you see a current under the water, follow it. It will lead to the stairs leading to the basement.
Along the way, you can float up and take a breath of air — you won’t drown. Next, look for Bran and the chest.
Where to find Bran’s body and the note?
Bran’s body will be found at the top of the stairs in the basement. If you search, you take the Note from the corpse from the basement of the tavern. You read it directly from your inventory. That’s it, there’s no doubt about it: It’s really Bran. The quest is progressing.
The code for the chest in Silas’s basement
There is a chest nearby. Inside are Bran’s Axe, four Rice tinctures, two Pure spirits and three portions of Rice. The thing! But the lock is tricky.
If you didn’t download hacking, it doesn’t matter. Here is the exact sequence (verified):
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Plate 3 → right x3
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Plate 6 → right x6
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Plate 4 → left x4
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Plate 3 → right x6
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Plate 4 → left x3
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Plate 1 → left x2
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Plate 5 → left x2
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Plate 6 → right x3
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Plate 2 → right x2
The chest will click. Take the goods. The most valuable thing is Bran’s Axe. This is a direct proof.: Silas killed him. The clue is not necessary to complete the quest, but it affects the final reward. So bring it with you.
Should I give the axe to the Rice Lord?
Swim out of the basement, return to the Silas Tavern. You’re interrogating Silas himself. Then we’ll run to the Rice Lord in the New Camp and report.
If you have the same axe in your inventory, you will have the option to transfer the evidence directly in the dialog. The Rice Lord will evaluate: he will give 50 ores on top. Without an axe, you can’t see this money. And yes, the Lord will pointedly hint that Silas will have problems. So it’s worth giving back. Ore is never superfluous at the beginning of the game.
Reward for completing the quest Up to the Neck
Completion is rewarded with 300 experience points and a blue-handled Axe. Not a fountain, but not a puff, either.
Something else is more important. After the quest, the Rice Lord will intercede for you in front of Lares. This is a prerequisite to continue the “Admission to a New Camp” quest. So without “Up to your neck” you stupidly will not become your own.
In addition, if you have brought an axe, add another 50 ores.
