Old Man | Salt and Sanctuary Wiki

The Old Man is a character in Salt and Sanctuary. He functions as a type of guide or a tutorial character who appears throughout the game. It is later revealed that the Old Man became a servant of the Nameless God after he prayed for power, but he believes the Nameless God is evil and disagrees with his methods.

Location

• Shivering Shore (greeting you/giving you an icon)
• Bandit's Pass (telling you that you can't yet enter the castle)
• Siam Lake
• The Still Palace

 

Quest Information

• First instance leaves after you defeat the Sodden Knight
• The second instance leaves after you get the Vertigo Brand
• Third Instance leaves after you defeat the Witch of the Lake
• The Still Palace instance will not be present if you do not talk to the Scarecrow

 

Dialogue

First Encounter:

Well, hello there.
You're just a fleshy bit of flotsam, washed ashore with the rest of us, hmm?
You'll want shelter, you'll want sanctuary. But what is a sanctuary without faith?
There's an empty sanctuary up the beach. You can claim it for your creed.
Tell me: do you keep the new gods?

No:
You don't keep the new gods? Rare...
So, are you a pilgrim of Devara? Your sort has been dying out for centuries, I'm afraid.

No:
No...?
Do you hold no gods at all? You're either brave, foolish or from the North.
You don't look particularly brave, but you don't seem particularly foolish, either. Are you a Mountainsmith?

No and subsequent "No" options:
No? What was your creed, then?

This opens up 3 choices on the list. The player must choose one.

Choosing "Yes" on the first prompt or "The Three" on the list:
Most men follow the three deities: The King, The Knight, and The Judge.
The King lends wisdom to men who lead, The Knight protects the warriors in combat, and The Judge guides those who mantain order. 
Are you a follower of The Three, then?
Yes:
You're a follower of The Three, as I suspected.
Here is a Candelabra of the Three, icon of your creed.

Choosing "Yes" on the second prompt or "Goddes of Light" on the list:
Followers of the Goddes of Light worship Devara, deity of humility, kindness, and forgiveness.
Her creed is perhaps the oldest known creed, though this could be a consequence of it's clerics' meticulous recordkeeping.
Are you a pilgrim of Devara's Light, then?
Yes:
A follower of the Goddess of Light. Your journey will be difficult.
Accept this Earthen Vessel, it will bring Devara's blessing to the vacant sanctuary ahead.

Choosing "Yes" on the third prompt or "The Iron Ones" on the list:
Men from the mountains of the northern continent of Markdor are Iron Ones.
They believe in no gods, believing instead in the iron will of man. They love steel but hate magic.
Are you a member of The Iron Ones, then?
Yes:
You're a member of the Iron Ones, eh? No gods will help you here.
Accept this Metal Icon, then. 

Talking to him after choosing a Creed:
You survived a shipwreck, didn't you?
This island is full of shipwrecked sailors like you.
I stand here on the beach I see men drown, I see men survive, but I never see rescue.
Perhaps this island is cursed. But weren't you already thinking that?

Talking to him again:
But have I seen a princess? Perhaps... perhaps.
Why is a princess so important? Living or dead, we're all the same flesh.
Maybe I'm your princess, adorned in the decrepit skin of an old man! Heh heh heh.
Well, go find your princess. You know what they say: "a quest goes a long way to keepin' the madness at bay!"

Subsequent conversations:
Sanctuary is simple, but salvation is not.

If talked in NG+ and beyond:
Make your way up the beach, until you find the vacant sanctuary.
You'll place the icon I gave you upon the altar, and you'll live.
Despite everything, you'll live.

Second Encounter:

First conversation:
Well, well, well...
Looks like this is the end of the road for you, friend.
If memory serves me right, the obelisk here is your door into the castle.

Second conversation:
The key, however... now that's a different story.
Perhaps you should search the area below those seaside ruins, where a forgotten feast festers.

Third and subsequent conversations:
I think it always helps to go back at the start.
But your started off this island. Can't go back there, can you?

 Third encounter:

First conversation:
Well. Look how far we've come.
I've been on this island for a long, long time.
The air, the salt of the sea, it all hangs to me like an ancient crust.
And the shipwrecked, like you. So many shipwrecked sailors. So much fleshy flotsam.
Fleshy flotsam... with a shared secret.

Second conversation:
You are all betrayed, you are.
I've seen slaves and whores, masquerading as nobles.
I've seen soldiers and sailors wrecked from the same ship with different ideas as to what their mission was.
You sad, sad wanderers.

Third conversation:
Do you know by whom you were betrayed?
And why?
You had your princess to find. Or did you?

Subsequent conversations:
We'll meet again soon.

Final encounter:

First conversation:
It's time you knew my name.
There was a time when I held many titles.
Men knew me by other names as well.
But titles, fame, infamy... it is worthless here.
On this island, Jaret is my name.

Second conversation:
Envy is such a thing.
A man envies his neighbor, whose wife is very beautiful.
A lord envies a king, who commands nobles.
A king envies a god, to whom all men must bow.
And a god envies... a god envies what a god cannot have.

Third conversation:
I wanted so much from life. Satisfaction eluded me.
And the things I prayed for... well... would you believe a god actually answered my prayers?
These things... this life... this island... such is my reward.
Fantastic power, a lifetime of servitude, and a purgatorial existence in this still place.

Fourth conversation:
The god of this island is the god that answered my prayers.
His existence is one of insatiable lust for something a god can never have: to be born of light.
He preyed on the greedy, collecting on the debts of kingdoms and countries in some mad, mad hope of collecting that thing he shall never have.
Alas... we are born of Salt, bound by Sanctuary.
We are the eternally dead.

Last conversation:
This god... this demon... I want him to remain nameless.
His lust for power is fueled by terror and infamy.
Men at sea can fear the Kraeken, but give this vile god no name.

Subsequent conversations:
Go on.

 

 Trivia

• After talking to him a few times in The Still Palace, he will say his name is Jaret, which is also the name of the King of Storms^[*], ruler of the Castle of Storms.

 

 

 

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