Debt Collector

As soon as the second objective (rescuing Phoibe) becomes available, other side quests will pop up in the map. You’re not actually in a hurry to rescue Phoibe. You can even complete a few low level sidequests nearby to get a boost of EXP. Also, you can access the first blacksmith in the town of Sami. Pay him a visit to get new armor pieces and sell unwanted ones. When ready, summon your steed and head to Ktimene Beach, as marked in your map. Completing this objective will launch a mercenary to hunt you down.

After reaching the beach, approach the bandit camp for a short cutscene. This objective will also serve as a tutorial on how to remain stealthy and perform stealth kills for silent infiltration. You’ll need to apply this method for the majority of the game since frontal assaults will always put you in a disadvantageous position. Once you’re noticed, the person who saw you will investigate your last known position. You can get into another position or wait and assassinate the target once he or she’s near enough.

Tip: if you’re in vegetation and the target you assassinate is carrying a torch, quickly reposition since you’ll get caught in the flames

There are three more targets in the camp. Approach the one standing by the campfire and press down to whistle. Only the NPCs nearest to your position will react to this. Wait for the target to investigate and strike him down.

Next, approach the next bandit standing by the hut. As long as you’re crouching, enemies won’t hear your approach. Always approach enemies this way; as long as you’re not in their line of sight, you’ll be able to take them out.

Tip: Don’t leave bodies of assassinated targets in the open as it will attract attention to anyone that finds it. Make sure to carry them and move them in a dark corner or vegetation to avoid spooking out the other hostiles in the area.

Finally, approach the last bandit from behind and take her out. Once done, loot the chest inside the hut and free Phoibe to complete the objective.

After the cutscene, you’ll have a LV1 Bounty courtesy of the Cyclops. The LV5 Mercenary, Talos will be hunting you down actively. Avoid facing him until you’re at least you’re LV4 and with good equipment. Even then, he’ll still be tricky to beat, unless you’re really good at parrying and telegraphing his movements. While you can always pay off your bounties, this particular one set by the Cyclops can’t be paid off and you’ll have no choice but to kill Talos when you’re ready.

Next, you’ll be back to your original objective; to get your money from Duris in the town of Sami. Talos the mercenary might be wandering around the area but as long as you keep track of his location and avoid him, you can approach Duris without any issues. Once you reach Duris, talk to him and he’ll explain why he’s late giving the payment. If you take the more diplomatic approach (agree that double interest is too much then leave him alone), Duris will be thankful and will give you a rare sword (Duris’ Sword) that will be very useful early on. If you want to use brawns, you can break his wares to scare him or outright kill the man.

Either way, after talking to the merchant, you’ll have to talk to Markos next. You’ll find him outside the temple right outside the town, talking to one of Cyclops’ brutes. After the cutscene, Drucilla the bowyer will arrive and berate Markos about the delayed shipment of wood that’s been being intercepted by the bandits. To resolve this task, you’ll need your broken bow fixed first.

Follow Drucilla to her workshop and wait for her to fix your bow for you. Once done, you’ll be able to equip a bow. Finally, do a quick shot and charged shot at the dummies to complete this mission. The side quest, Lumbering Along will also become available. Talk to Drucilla to start this side quest. To continue with the main story, you have to talk to Markos again in his vineyard.