Etched in Bone

Etched in Bone is a Dark and Darker quest assigned by the Skeleton Footman merchant, part of the A Bone-A-Fide Anniversary quest line. Lately, I've heard whispers that my comrades are falling far too easily. As proud skeletons, we must show we're not just hollow-boned fools. Bring me their skulls. As many as you can. I'll make sure the lesson sticks. The objective is to bring 10× intact skull. All progress requires a successful extraction — items retrieved or kills made during a failed run do not count toward quest completion. Once every objective is fulfilled, return to Skeleton Footman in the lobby to turn in the quest and receive the reward. This quest requires completing Graveyard Shifts before it becomes available from Skeleton Footman. Completing Etched in Bone rewards 1,000 XP, 1 Gold. The quest is completed in Ice Cavern, Goblin Caves, Ruins or Ship Graveyard. Merchant quests in Dark and Darker are one of the most consistent gold and experience sources in the game, independent of loot luck on the Trading Post. Completing the full Skeleton Footman quest chain unlocks higher reward tiers and increases merchant affinity, which can affect prices and open additional quest tiers in future seasons. The A Bone-A-Fide Anniversary chain provides a structured progression path through the Skeleton Footman quest tree, and finishing each quest in order is the fastest route to the higher value objectives later in the line. Use the MetaBot Dark and Darker quest tracker to check all open objectives across every active merchant before extracting, so you can turn in multiple quests from a single run and get the most value out of each session.