Thorus

"The only one who can take you in as a Shadow or a warder is Gomez."

Thorus is the warder who guards the Old Camp castle gate and decides who gets to pass through it. When the Hero offers a bribe, he sets the price at a thousand nuggets, enough to keep him and his guys busy counting, though he mentions that joining Gomez's people gets a person in for free instead. When Diego sends the Hero to him, Thorus lays out the rule of the camp plainly: only Gomez can take someone in as a Shadow or a warder, and the only way to get an audience with him is if someone trusted, like Diego, vouches for the newcomer first. He refuses to test the Hero himself until that happens, telling him he'll first have to prove himself to Gomez, since he's the one who takes the blame if a freshie messes up.

Thorus also gates several errands through the same door. He lets messengers wearing the Water Mages' amulet through, wanting nothing to do with spellslingers, waves through deliveries of swampweed for Gomez when the amount is right, sending the courier to see Bartholo at the ore barons' house, and turns away short deliveries. He refuses to even glance at a letter the Hero claims is meant for the highest Fire Mage once the Hero declines to show it, brushing it off with indifference.

The bulk of Thorus's dealings with the Hero center on a man named Mordrag, a New Camp courier who has been stealing from the ore barons and fencing the stolen goods back to the Old Camp's own men. Thorus wants him gone but insists it stay quiet, since Mordrag works as a courier passing letters between the Old Camp's Fire Mages and the New Camp's Water Mages, and the mages protect him. He recalls that years ago a Shadow tried to kill the highest Fire Mage in his sleep, and "the next morning, they found his body in the outer ring. Scattered across it, that is," which is why he won't move against Mordrag directly. He sends the Hero to find Mordrag at the south gate, on the other side of the castle, and says he doesn't care how it's handled, only that he never wants to see his face again. If the Hero botches it by mentioning Thorus's name, he explodes, "You fucking idiot!" and tells him to get out of his sight. If the Hero kills Mordrag outright, Thorus is impressed by the show of nerve; if Mordrag is merely driven off, he says he'd have preferred him dead but accepts it anyway.

Once the Hero has built a reputation and Diego vouches for him, Thorus gives the final word on whether he's earned an audience with Gomez, warning him not to act all tough just because the Shadows back him, and reminding him he's on his own now. When the Hero later returns as a full Shadow, Thorus welcomes him aboard with a simple "don't mess this up, will you?" Asked about the state of the camp, he says it's quiet, and that he's more worried about the cultists than the New Campers these days.