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Begin An Unheard Farewell at the Valley of Ashes Guidepost, just after the first Grenadier. Speak through the carriage window to the Adjutant Sous-Officier and agree to help. The objective most players miss is the scouts’ investigation: after unlocking the elevator, ride it back down, jump onto the narrow ledge halfway down the shaft, burn the gold-vine barrier with fire transmutation, defeat the elite soldier inside, and collect the note beside the tent.
Return to the Adjutant through the Demolished Path shortcut, then choose whether to tell the truth or lie. Either answer awards the Sleight of Hand amber. Rest afterward to receive the choice-specific follow-up: catalysts for telling the truth, or a Remnant’s Return consumable if you lie.
Quest location, timing and missable-looking steps
An Unheard Farewell is a Chapter 2 side quest in Valor Mortis, set in the Valley of Ashes. It starts at the Guidepost lantern after the first Grenadier. Although the scouts’ cave is easy to run past, the quest itself is non-missable and remains completable after the story. You can therefore finish the main route first and return to the Valley of Ashes if necessary.
The quest has two layers: the required report to the Adjutant and an optional investigation objective concerning missing scouts. The investigation is the part that determines whether you have found every objective. Simply continuing upward through the cave and later speaking to the Adjutant does not complete it.
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1. Accept the Adjutant’s assignment
- Travel to Valley of Ashes > Guidepost.
- Make sure you have passed the first Grenadier; the carriage is encountered from this point onward.
- Interact with the Adjutant Sous-Officier through the carriage window.
- Select the dialogue option to agree to help. This starts An Unheard Farewell.
If the Adjutant is not offering the assignment, check that you are at the Guidepost after the first Grenadier rather than an earlier lantern or a different Valley of Ashes entrance.
2. Progress to the elevator section
Follow the level’s normal path after accepting the assignment. You must obtain the required pistol and continue through the cave until you climb the ladder into the upper area. The pistol and ladder are progression requirements for reaching the elevator mechanism; the scouts’ investigation cannot be completed from the lower approach before this route is opened.
Use the pistol before looking for the cave
Do not search the initial cave for the scouts’ note. The note is located off the elevator shaft, and that shaft is inaccessible until you have advanced through the cave, acquired the pistol and climbed the ladder. If you have not yet reached the upper elevator section, keep following the main route instead of backtracking for the optional objective.
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At the upper elevator section, look for the glowing Nephtoglobin growths. Shoot them to release the lift mechanism, then use the mechanism to operate the elevator.
The second lift unlock
The second unlock requires two growths to be shot. If the lift still will not make the required trip, search the upper elevator area for the remaining glowing growths and hit both before trying the mechanism again. A single growth is not enough for this second stage.
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- Checkpoint: you have climbed the ladder, reached the upper elevator area and shot the required glowing growths.
- Expected result: the lift mechanism becomes usable, allowing you to travel through the shaft.
- Common mistake: riding onward without using the elevator to inspect the midway ledge.
4. Reach the hidden ledge halfway down the shaft
The scouts’ cave is not at the top of the elevator route. After activating the lift, ride the elevator back down and watch the shaft wall as you descend. Halfway down, jump off onto the narrow ledge opposite the route you used on the way up.
This jump is the route to the optional investigation. If you remain on the elevator until the next obvious landing or simply continue through the upper route, you will pass the cave entrance.
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The ledge ends at an entrance covered by gold vines or a web-like barrier. It is not opened by a normal melee interaction. Use fire transmutation on the barrier, then enter the passage.
- Ride the lift downward rather than searching only around the top station.
- Leave the elevator at the midpoint of the shaft.
- Face the opposite side from the route used to reach the upper area.
- Apply fire transmutation to the gold-vine/web barrier.
These visual cues distinguish the correct ledge from ordinary shaft walls. If there is no burnable barrier in front of you, you are probably at the wrong height or on the wrong side of the shaft.
5. Complete the scouts’ optional investigation
Inside the hidden cave, defeat the miniboss or elite soldier. The combat encounter is part of reaching the evidence; the investigation objective is not complete merely because you have found the ledge.
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Collect the required note
After the fight, search the area around the tent and pick up the note titled “Letter to all Commanding Officers of the Line Infranty”. The spelling of “Infranty” is part of the in-game title. This document is the evidence the optional objective requires.
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Use the following checklist before leaving:
- The barrier was burned with fire transmutation.
- The miniboss or elite soldier in the cave was defeated.
- The letter beside the tent was picked up.
If you did not collect the letter, the later conversation will not represent a fully investigated report. Return to the elevator shaft and repeat the midpoint jump if you have already left the cave.
6. Return to the Adjutant
Once the cave investigation is complete, continue forward until you reach the Demolished Path area. Use the kick-down ladder shortcut there to descend back toward the first lantern. This shortcut avoids repeating the entire approach through the cave.
- Leave the scouts’ cave and continue to Demolished Path.
- Find the ladder that can be kicked down.
- Use it to create the shortcut toward the first Guidepost lantern.
- Return to the carriage and speak to the Adjutant Sous-Officier again.
The report conversation presents the quest’s only consequential choice: tell the truth about what you found or lie.
7. Truth or lie: what changes
The two answers provide the same immediate amber reward, so neither choice is worse for character progression on that measure. The difference appears after you rest and in what happens to the Adjutant’s body.
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| Choice | Immediate reward | After resting | Narrative result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tell the truth | Sleight of Hand amber | Additional catalysts | The Adjutant survives the immediate report sequence. |
| Lie | Sleight of Hand amber | A Remnant’s Return consumable appears | After resting, the Adjutant’s corpse appears in the scouts’ cave. |
What the truth option is best for
Select the truth response if you want the post-resting reward to be catalysts and prefer the Adjutant to remain alive after the report. Rest after completing the conversation to trigger the additional catalysts.
What the lie option is best for
Select the lie response if you value the recovery utility of Remnant’s Return. After resting, return to the scouts’ cave; the Adjutant’s corpse will be there, carrying the consumable. Remnant’s Return retrieves dropped catalysts, making this branch useful when recovering a previous loss matters more than receiving the truth branch’s catalysts.
The choice does not alter the Sleight of Hand amber. Decide according to the follow-up item and the narrative outcome you want, rather than trying to optimize the amber reward.
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Completing An Unheard Farewell contributes to the Aggressive Reconnaissance bronze trophy/achievement. The quest’s amber reward is Sleight of Hand, received when the report is resolved. The truth-or-lie branch changes the post-resting item and the Adjutant’s outcome, not that amber.
If you choose the lie branch, the Remnant’s Return is found in the scouts’ cave only after resting, so do not assume it was omitted because it was not present immediately after the dialogue. The truth branch’s additional catalysts likewise require a rest before they appear.
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Complete route at a glance
- At the Valley of Ashes Guidepost after the first Grenadier, speak to the Adjutant Sous-Officier in the carriage and agree to help.
- Advance through the cave, obtain the required pistol and climb the ladder to the upper area.
- At the elevator section, shoot the glowing Nephtoglobin growths; shoot two for the second unlock.
- Ride the elevator back down and jump onto the narrow ledge halfway down, opposite the route used on the ascent.
- Burn the gold-vine or web-like barrier with fire transmutation.
- Defeat the miniboss or elite soldier in the hidden cave.
- Pick up “Letter to all Commanding Officers of the Line Infranty” near the tent.
- Continue to Demolished Path, kick down the ladder shortcut and return to the first lantern.
- Report to the Adjutant, then choose truth or lie.
- Rest to receive the branch-specific follow-up reward; if you lied, revisit the scouts’ cave for Remnant’s Return.
Troubleshooting the optional objective
The elevator will not move
Return to the upper elevator section and inspect for glowing Nephtoglobin growths. The second unlock specifically requires two growths to be shot. Once the remaining growths are destroyed, use the lift mechanism again.
I cannot find the scouts’ cave
You are looking for a midpoint exit, not a destination at the top or bottom of the shaft. Ride the elevator back down, leave it halfway, and search the opposite wall for the narrow ledge. The gold-vine or web-like barrier marks the entrance.
The barrier does not open
Use fire transmutation on the barrier. Ordinary attacks are not the stated way through the gold vines or web-like covering.
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The investigation did not register
Confirm all three cave actions: enter through the burned barrier, defeat the miniboss or elite soldier, and pick up the letter near the tent. The letter is the required evidence, and it is easy to overlook when moving straight toward the upper route.
I cannot find the post-choice item
Rest after speaking to the Adjutant. The truth branch produces additional catalysts after resting. The lie branch places Remnant’s Return on the Adjutant’s corpse in the scouts’ cave after resting; it is not an immediate dialogue reward.
When to finish the quest
Because the quest is non-missable and remains available after the story, you do not need to interrupt a first playthrough to force the investigation immediately. Completing it during the Valley of Ashes sequence keeps the elevator ledge and the Adjutant’s return route easy to recognize, while post-story completion remains a safe option if you prefer to clear the main path first.
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