Complete the anthem by visiting the burrows
To complete The Shrike's Anthem, collect the note beside the wooden shrine near The Outskirts > Island of Whispers, then hear the missing verses at the nearby burrows. The final burrow, reached across beams in the building with the shortcut door, completes the quest and rewards a Tiny Whisker Gift.
Start at Island of Whispers
The Shrike's Anthem takes place in The Outskirts during Chapter 7: Witch Hunt. Start from the Island of Whispers Lantern and continue into the next area, where the note lies on the ground beside a wooden shrine.
The starting item is the Torn Page from the Shrike's Anthem, and four verses are missing. The Mice sing those verses from burrows marked with a white bird. After collecting the page, look for these burrows inside the surrounding buildings.
Follow the route to every singing burrow
- Pick up the note on the ground beside the wooden shrine beyond the Island of Whispers Lantern. This starts The Shrike's Anthem.
- Follow the path left of the shrine through the gap between the buildings. Keep left until you reach the boxes blocking a building entrance.
- Break the boxes at the entrance to open the way into the building.
- Climb the ledge inside the building to reach the burrow above.
- Interact with this burrow to hear another portion of the anthem before continuing along the route.
- Follow the route across the bridge, turning left into the barn and left again inside. This brings you to the low opening in the wall.
- Crouch through the opening in the wall to reach the next burrow.
- Interact with the burrow beyond the opening to hear another part of the anthem.
- Climb through this building to the exit on the other side. From there, look toward the water for a house with a white marking.
- Jump via the white-marked house into the attic of another building. The next burrow is inside that attic.
- Interact with the attic burrow to hear the next portion of the anthem.
- Continue along the route until you reach the building with the shortcut door. Its central climbing route leads up toward the path onward.
- Walk across the beams to the right of the path onward. They lead to the final burrow.
- Interact with the final burrow to complete The Shrike's Anthem and receive the Tiny Whisker Gift.
Quest rewards and using the gift
| Reward | What you receive |
|---|---|
| Tiny Whisker Gift consumable | An experience consumable worth 3,000 Catalysts when used. |
| Catalysts from completing the quest | 3,000 Catalysts, alongside the Tiny Whisker Gift. |
| Friendship with the Mice | Three Mice friendship points from completing the anthem. |
Save the Tiny Whisker Gift until you are ready to spend Catalysts at a Lantern. Using a Catalyst consumable turns its value into carried Catalysts, which can be dropped on death. Catalysts can be spent at Lanterns to level up.
The Shrike's Anthem has no dedicated trophy or achievement. Birdwatcher is awarded for rendezvousing with the Shrike during the story.
Check these places if a verse is missing
- Check beside the wooden shrine for the starting note. Use that landmark to orient yourself before retracing the route through the buildings.
- Check above the ledge in the building behind the breakable boxes. Entering the building is only part of the route; interact with the burrow inside.
- Check beyond the low wall opening in the barn. The burrow is reached by crouching through that opening after turning left inside.
- Check the attic reached from the white-marked house by the water, then the beams to the right of the path in the shortcut building. Interacting with the burrow across those beams is the completion step.
Spoiler warning: later Mice rewards
The Shrike's Anthem contributes three Mice friendship points toward the ten required for later friendship rewards. Finish your friendship-building tasks before climbing the Fortress's High Tower. The later areas check the friendship you have already earned.
With at least ten friendship points, the Mouse King in Entropy gives you a Giant Whisker Gift and the Mice's Key. That gift grants 30,000 Catalysts when used, and the key opens a shortcut through Entropy. Completing The Shrike's Anthem helps you work toward these rewards, but its friendship points alone do not meet the requirement.