Loam is a hidden NPC in the Underworks, a worker bound to a treadmill that appears to power the cavern’s machinery. He’s easy to miss, easy to pity, and hard to “solve.” Here’s what you can actually do in his room, how to find him, and what eventually happens to him.

Who Loam is

Loam (male) is encountered mid-Underworks, running a large treadmill that is visibly connected to gears and cogs throughout the area. He believes the distant Citadel is watching and rewarding diligence, and he interprets any pause as failure. Speak to him and he’ll briefly break pace to address Hornet, then return to running almost immediately.

Play the Needolin near him, and he reacts with a mix of reverence and pain, asking you not to continue because the sound stirs difficult memories. The instrument doesn’t change his state or the room’s machinery; after a moment, he resumes his routine.

How to find Loam

From the Underworks’ middle section, look for a room with a giant spiked block that travels in an L-shaped pattern. Above that space is a small vent or airway. Move left of the vent and strike a breakable section of the ceiling; the hidden passage leads to Loam’s chamber.

The treadmill you can use

To the right of Loam is a second treadmill that Hornet can run. Filling its gauge yields a small payout: one rosary bead per completed cycle. Players report that:

  • The payout is slow, roughly one bead per ~40 seconds of uninterrupted running.
  • Speed-boosting items don’t reliably stack for this interaction, and in practice the pace feels capped.
  • After repeated cycles, the machine may occasionally vent with no bead produced until the room is reset by leaving and returning.

In short, it’s a flavor piece with a token reward. Treat it as atmosphere and a trickle of currency, not a farm.

Can you stop Loam or free him?

No confirmed method exists to halt his work during this encounter. He will pause to speak and then continue, even if you play the Needolin. The scene is designed to reinforce the Underworks’ theme of relentless labor rather than to offer a branching resolution.

What changes later (spoilers)

At a later point in the game, Loam is found dead on his treadmill, crushed beneath fallen rubble. The exact trigger and timing for this state change have not been clearly established; it is not tied to a visible in-room action. If you return after this event and interact (including with the Needolin), you’ll get a short postscript that reflects release from toil.

Why the scene lands

Loam’s room binds story, level logic, and mechanics into a single vignette: a character who literally powers a hostile space, a token treadmill that turns your own effort into a meager payout, and a fate that unfolds offscreen regardless of your intervention. It’s an optional detour that does more worldbuilding than rewarding, and that’s the point.

Tip: If you want the bead, run a single cycle and move on. If you’re exploring for narrative texture, talk to Loam, try the Needolin once to hear his response, and make a note to revisit the chamber later as the Underworks changes.