After Distant Shadows, speak to Drogos in the Manumit Hideout and promptly find Crake, identified as Marat, south of Svartrau. A Closer Look is the relationship quest; do it before spending time on unrelated tasks.

Trigger the meeting

  1. Finish the Distant Shadows investigation and report back. Check that Drogos offers the follow-up at the hideout.
  2. Accept A Closer Look, then go to its meeting point near the woods south of Svartrau. Look for Marat rather than expecting a second NPC named Crake.
  3. Ask to sit with him, then express concern. Keep the discussion personal rather than treating it as an assignment.
  4. Ask about Ascar. Sources show different dialogue branches: one asks for the truth, another identifies him as Marat’s father and asks why. Follow the options actually offered; these are not necessarily consecutive prompts.
  5. If Marat walks away, follow and sit down. Reassure him that the disclosure does not change your feelings; ending the subject here can miss the relationship response.

Complete the relationship choice

Show the final response — spoilers
  1. When the response appears, select [kiss him back] to accept the romance. Declining is a valid personal choice and does not itself prevent quest completion. Completing the quest and earning The Manumit achievement do not by themselves prove that this optional relationship response was selected.
A Closer Look dialogue showing the kiss-back and rejection choices.
The actual response menu; identify the text rather than expecting a heart icon. All Things How / Rebel Wolves

How long can you wait?

PowerPyx records a deadline of 16 time segments, or one game day. All Things How describes a tighter day/night-cycle restriction. The discrepancy is unresolved. The practical precaution is to go directly from Drogos to the meeting and keep the pre-acceptance save; do not plan around the longer estimate as guaranteed.

The Crake allied ending follows a separate final-quest decision.

  1. Finish the conversation and check A Closer Look in the journal. Continue to Rise at Dawn when ready for the ending; accepting the romance is not its mandatory prerequisite.

Find your current stage

Use the journal name to choose a detailed route. The personal investigation is optional for the allied assault; do not treat this as nine mandatory consecutive tasks.

| Detailed route | Check before moving on | | --- | --- | | The Firebrand | Mert’s manumit lead | | Shadows in the Woods | Sara’s rescue and camp conversation | | Where Loyalty Lies | City meeting and warehouse investigation | | What Hunts the Night | Church escape and refuge conversation | | What Moves the Dead | Silas’s notes and Crake’s rescue | | Who Pulls the Strings | Tower book and report to Marat | | Distant Shadows | Optional personal investigation before A Closer Look | | Rise at Dawn | Commit to the assault; open the gate | | Fall Before Dusk | Castle route and Brencis |

The ATH roundup also includes Under Watchful Eyes and Taking Back What’s Mine as optional branches. Its twelve-entry count is not twelve requirements for romance. See Under Watchful Eyes for the rescue detour; Taking Back What’s Mine is the surrendered-weapons recovery branch, now covered in The Firebrand.

If Who Pulls the Strings is unfinished, do not assume the only remaining finale is solo: other ally routes have their own conditions. Finish personal conversations before confirming an assault you are ready to start.