I. Loose Cargo

A guide to the 'Loose Cargo' section of Return of the Obra Dinn, detailing how to find and investigate the crushed corpse in the Bosun's Store.

You are back in the starboard section of the Bosun's Store. Your objective is to reach the port section. From the crab monster's remains, turn 360 degrees and exit the store. Move aft-and-port towards the port side of the Cargo Hold, near the Captain's Cargo Room. Turn almost 360 degrees again and proceed fore to the port-and-fore door near the stairs. Enter the port side of the Bosun's store, turn right, and approach a barrel with swirling flies. Activate the Memento Mortem with spacebar on the barrel to your bottom-left.

This triggers the memory 'Loose Cargo, Part 2'. You will hear faint voices saying "Hoist away!" and "Lower away!". A grunt, a snap of rope, panicked breathing, and two impacts indicate a barrel falling and crushing someone. You are now in front of the barrel. Turn left, go a little aft, then right and port to find a corpse crushed by cargo. Zooming in may offer clues. Look up to see Lars Linde, Henry Brennan, Leonid Volkov, Nathan Peters, Charles Miner, and the future Irish mutineer. Turn left, go aft-and-starboard to find Alexander Booth. Turn right, go port, then left to see another shocked man in boots. Turn 360 degrees, go fore, then starboard, then left to find Hok-Seng Lau near the Passenger Cargo Room. Turn left and go towards the stairs where Renfred Rajub is carrying barrels, aft-and-starboard of Soloman Syed. Go to the port side, aft, to see Aleksei Toporov rolling a barrel. Return to the crushed corpse. The logbook will appear, showing Chapter I, Page 5 (falling cargo) and Page 6 (near Falmouth Harbour). It then skips to pp. 9-10, detailing the Cargo Deck situation with 12 'others present'. Page 9 states: "An unidentified stowaway, expecting free passage and eventual freedom, was instead crushed inside a falling barrel." Exit the book. The Memento Mortem will detect a corpse. Step back from the crushed corpse and use the pocketwatch (spacebar) to reveal the corpse. Approach the lit corpse and use the pocketwatch (spacebar) to absorb its soul and exit the memory.

Back in the present-day Bosun's Store, the Memento Mortem points southeast. Follow the spirit compass, opening doors and following its path as it goes starboard, then aft, then port, then starboard again, and finally lands near the port box, forming a hologram of the crushed corpse and the box. Activate the Memento Mortem (spacebar) on the box.

This triggers the memory 'Loose Cargo, Part 1'. You will hear clearer voices, including Booth saying "Make way, coming through," and Brennan commanding "Orlop stern, 'neath the tiller." You will hear "Lower away!" again, and Linde's voice clearly saying "Oy!" before the scene cuts off.