Arthur Nightingale Dialogue

Arthur Nightingale is the leader of the Hex syndicate in Höllvania. He is a protoframe of the Excalibur batch, and uses his military experience to coordinate the group's strategy and tactics. Like the other protoframes, he can only be interacted with after the Drifter completes The Hex quest.

Syndicate information

Arthur represents the Hex syndicate. The Hex is described thusly:

Formerly human operatives, the six members of the Hex were transformed into Protoframes by Albrecht Entrati. Filled with uncanny power and mourning their lost humanity, they continue their mission of mercy in beleaguered Höllvania.

Standing with the Hex is gained by handing in Hex Treasures to Lettie. Hex Treasures are rewarded from bounties or found during missions in Höllvania. The Hex syndicate ranks, from least to most favoured, are:

Neutral: [no description]
Leftovers: There is little warmth in Höllvania even among the Hex, but the Drifter has begun to gather the scraps together.
Fresh Slice: The Hex have made room at the table for their new arrival. Will Drifter be to their taste?
2-For-1: A group is much more than the sum of its parts. With new friendships come new possibilities.
Hot & Fresh: Things are really taking shape down at the Central Mall. Patience and persistence work miracles.
Pizza Party: It's the party of your lifetime, and all of Höllvania is invited!

When it comes time for the Drifter to rank up, they must talk to Arthur, who will request a sacrifice of Höllvania-specific resources, and reward them with an item from among those offered by Hex vendors, befitting their new status.

Idle quotes

"So. Anything to report?"

"Situation isn't ideal but confidence is high. I'll take it."

"We're making a difference. That's a rare feeling in this line of work."

"Some of the west sector civvies want to throw us a parade, and I can't seem to convince them that kind of attention is a bad idea."

"We're saving lives here. No matter how rough it gets, remember that."

(exasperated) "Thank you, Eleanor. It's under control."

"Quincy, I need you to talk to our civilian operatives about updating their surveillance detection routes. I need to know which of them have drawn attention, and who's on them."

"Amir, I've got updates for civvie stations in the outer sectors. Hand-delivery only. That's you."

"Great work on the threat assessment, Aoi. Let's have you run the others through it at the briefing."

"Lettie: thanks for the help. Appreciate it."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Hey! No drinking contests with the newcomers. I don't care how patriotic anyone's feeling."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Yes. The bar is open. Don't make me regret it."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Lettie? If Velimir can keep the beer cold he can keep a morgue running. Tell him I said so."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Amir, I want you and Kaya submitting joint scav dockets from here on in."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Quincy? We need a fresh tactical overview. The new four have some bloody useful tricks up their sleeves."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Gentle reminder, everyone. Lettie's rats are not test subjects. They know what terminal velocity is and they don't enjoy it."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Hey, Kaya, once again, at Lettie's request: if you, uh, create a portal, um… close it again afterwards!"

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Eleanor? If that guitar… thing of Flare's has thoughts, I want to know what they are."

(if the Drifter is rank Hot & Fresh or higher) "Uh… put me down as a 'maybe' for open mic night. Quincy knows why."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "I can't look at mythology like I used to, now I know what Entrati did to history. Dragons, golems, gorgons… makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Libertatians! Always got to be the loudest in the room. But when the shit goes down, you know they've got your back."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "The Major was broken. Crawling. Any of us could have killed her then. But we all held back."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Sol, I wish the Major could see what her family are going through to get her back."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "My dad would have taken one look at Flare and written them off as a limp-wristed weakling. [short chuckle] It's amazing how wrong he could be, my dad."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Whatever the hell is keeping Flare going, it's going to win this war for us."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Minerva has plagues, Kaya has antimatter… yeah, Entrati was definitely planning more than just a nuke."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "There are more of us, aren't there? Others. Entrati had so many loops to do what he did."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) (softly singing)
"Why does thou sit upon my grave.
And will dead lips to speak?
Why does thou weep upon my grave.
And will not let me sleep?"

[REMOVED] (if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Drifter! The Techrot just registered a monstrous energy loss. It's birthed something. Eleanor says it's imprinted on you."¹

Greeting the Drifter

(if the Drifter has just completed The Hex) "What occurred in that reactor – or what's going to occur – is beyond me. But it looks like we have another chance, and with you steering the ship, we might even make it. If anyone can pull this team together, it's you. And if there's anything I can do, you know where I am."

"Yes?"

"Hello."

"How do."

"What do you need?"

"I have a moment."

"At your service."

"Drifter."

"Good to see you."

"Right."

"How can I help?"

"Ah."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Hello again."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Let's talk."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Good to see you."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Always."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Talk to me."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Indeed."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Heh. Finally, someone I want to see."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Hello, love."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Is everything all right?"

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Let's get a little privacy."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "For you? Always."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Tell me what's on your mind."

After ranking up / Browsing offerings

(when the Drifter reaches rank Leftovers) "Welcome aboard, Drifter. This is for you."

(when the Drifter reaches rank Fresh Slice) "Well done, and well earned. This is for you."

(when the Drifter reaches rank 2-For-1) "With your help we're turning things around. This is for you."

(when the Drifter reaches rank Hot & Fresh) "Congratulations, friend. This is for you."

(when the Drifter reaches rank Pizza Party) "I admit, when you first came to us I had… reservations. In hindsight that was folly. Here. This is for you."

Redeeming offering

(if the Tenno is claiming rank Leftovers) "Hop on text for a second?"

(if the Tenno is claiming higher ranks) "Hop on text for a second? The team got you something."

Bidding farewell

"Best be getting on, then."

"Plenty to do."

"Be safe."

"Let me know when you have something."

"As you were."

"Back to it."

"Talk soon, then. Eh, how's that issue we discussed, Eleanor?"

"Travel safe. Aoi. Any update on enemy movements?"

"Later, then. Amir! I need your eye on the gennie. Now."

"As you were. Quincy. Inventory. What have we got?"

"Good. Lettie! Can I have a word?"

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Anything you need, ask."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "'Til next time."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Keep your eyes open, Marty."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Oh, and be careful out there, yeah? Don't want to lose you."

(if the Drifter is rank Pizza Party) "Text if you need anything."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Be careful out there. If you got killed, I'd never forgive you."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "See you tonight. Don't be late."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "You and me."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Oh, and if you happen to come across a bottle anywhere? I'm cooking."

(if the Drifter is dating Arthur) "Love you."

Romance

Once the Drifter reaches the "Close" Chemistry rank with Arthur, he can be asked out, either during a KIM conversation or in person at the mall. However, based on their KIM conversations, Arthur may decline to date the Drifter.

(asking to date Arthur) "Seriously? Are you sure about this?"

(if the Drifter confirms but is marked undateable) "Yeah, that's not going to happen. Sorry."

(if the Drifter confirms and this is their first time dating Arthur) "Well. All right, then. You and me. (quietly) Yes!"

(if the Drifter confirms and they have dated Arthur before) "All right, then. Let's give this another go."

(if the Drifter says "Never mind" instead) "Right. I'll forget you brought it up then."

(asking to break up with Arthur) "I need you to be certain. Are you?"

(if the Drifter confirms and this was their first time dating Arthur) "Okay. I won't lie, I feel like complete shit right now. You'd best not talk to me for a little bit."

(if the Drifter confirms and they have dated Arthur before) "Yeah. Figures. I'm your disposable doting dipshit once again. Why did I think it would be any different this time?"

(if the Drifter says "Never mind" instead) "With all my love and respect, this is not something you joke about. Please, don't jerk me around."

If the Drifter is dating Arthur, he will appear in the backroom apartment, with another set of dialogue.

Idle quotes in the backroom

"Wonder what Entrati's up to now. Sleeping with one eye open, if he's got any sense."

"Hand on heart, I didn't think we'd make it through the year. The Hex, I mean. Too many ways for it all to fall apart."

"Kalymos? Hey, hey! Kalymos, c'mere. Come on, come to Uncle Arthur. Come on, over here. Don't be scared, come on. [pause] Fine. Be like that."

"Gods. I am such a lucky bastard."

"What we do… is up to us. I could cook us a meal. We could even get drunk! [laughs] Sol. I've missed feeling safe enough to let my guard down."

"You still got that old Kinepage? Might have to send you a text or two. Just so you know I'm thinking about you."

"Pick me up a black bow tie if you ever find one, okay? I'd look sharp in a black bow tie."

"Shame I'm not sleepy. It'd be lovely to wake up to your face."

"Just be glad I'm not taking you home to meet my parents. One warzone is enough."

"Amir will be fine by himself, won't he? I don't have to watch over him 24/7, do I?"

"I'm not saying it's on the cards, I'm not saying it's even going to happen, but: if Quincy gave me a tattoo, would you laugh?"

"My sister thinks the world of you, you know. And where you're concerned, I actually care what she thinks."

"You know… Aoi always smiles when she sees me heading over here. Like she wants me to know it's all okay."

"You will tell me if the stubble gets too much, won't you? Don't want you to feel like a tramp's moved in."

"The only thing this place is missing is a nice big open fireplace. Oh, and a rug. Something furry, for… wrestling on."

"Should I get a little pinnie on and do some dusting? Would you like that? I could be persuaded."

"Hold it. Quiet. Listen. [pause, sigh] All clear. Sorry, I'm twitchy. Old habits."

"I'm not worrying. Honestly. But sometimes I think… what if, one day, you just punch the floor again and all this goes away? Like a dream that I don't even get to remember?"

"We should climb up on the roof. Look at the stars together. Feed the pigeons. Sweep for snipers."

"Look at you, prowling around your lair. Like you're protecting what's yours."

"I can't believe you've got a frigging spaceship and you're slumming it, here, with me."

"Sol's wounds, I am bushed. Maybe I should grab a shower. Join if you like."

"Comms are on silent… Aoi's fielding ops… I am officially off duty. This is our time. Just you and me."

"You are giving me quite an appetite, looking like that."

"I wonder how robust this furniture is?"

"Little reminder. Your weapons need to be stripped down and cleaned regularly. Including me. [soft growl] Do we need to make this a disciplinary matter?"

"Have you been working out? Fancy a quick arm-wrestle? Any bruises, I'll tell Lettie I got them, eh, 'in action'."

"Helminth isn't watching, Kalymos isn't watching, even Eleanor isn't watching. And I am right here."

"Given the sort of stuff we've been getting up to, I think we can be pretty certain you're immune to the Techrot."

"I could still taste you on my lips this morning. Buggered up my concentration completely. You're a liability, you are."

Greeting the Drifter in the backroom

"Hello, trouble."

"You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Hmm?"

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Mmm. Hi."

"All right?"

"Hello."

"I didn't touch anything!"

(Cockney accent) "'Ello, darlin'. (normal voice) Ha. Sorry, I won't do that again."

"Drifter."

“What’s on your mind?”

"We should get a distillery going, since we're here for good now. I could make my home brew. Nightingale's Old Kneecapper."

"Just hoping I get to go out riding with you someday. Horses, or kaithes, or whatever they have wherever we end up."

"Caught myself daydreaming about the big country house with the enormous garage. [soft laugh] I used to drive Aoi mental talking about that dream. [sigh] I hope she finds someone."

"When I look at the others, everything they have going for them, I just think: out of all of them, I got chosen. Me. You're crazy. But— but don't change your mind."

"All this? This is so much more than I deserve."

"You don't take nearly enough time for yourself. The world will not break if you set it down from your shoulders once in a while. Took me long enough to learn that."

"It's daft, eh? I was just thinking about Ordis, actually. What he'd look like if he was a person again. Little fella in a butler coat. Like a penguin."

"I promised myself I'd protect Eleanor forever. Nobody would ever hurt my sister again. Bollocksed that up nicely, didn't I?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking about how I had to watch all of them die, one by one. My head knows that didn't happen. We won. But I can still feel the despair down in my guts."

"Just thinking I'd make a shit father, but a really great uncle. The sort who takes you to the woods to blow things up."

“I’m glad we’re together.”

"So am I. What we've got here… it's really good. So let's not take it for granted. Make each day count."

"Yeah. If I was someone else I'd be so jealous of me right now."

"So am I. And so are the others. I was a moody old pain in the arse before you made an honest man of me."

"You say stuff like that out of the blue, you just make me fall in love with you all over again."

"Just how 'glad' are you, hm? Do I get to send you to your next mission looking all dishevelled and breathless?"

"Thank the gods for Höllvania's vibrant dating scene."

"Me too. [sigh] I'm so bloody glad we talk as much as we do. I bottled too much stuff up for too long."

"Thanks for saying it. I mean it. I could never get tired of hearing you say that to me."

"You've given me a reason to be scared of dying, and that much more to live for."

"Me too. Simple as that."

Bidding farewell in the backroom

"I'll be here."

"A little kiss for luck?"

"Bye, love."

"Bye for now."

"Don't be gone long."

"See you later."

"Okay. But, keep safe."

"Okay. Hurry back."

"Look after yourself, okay?"

"Let me know if you need me."

New Year’s Eve kiss

When the 1999 calendar finishes the autumn season and loops back around to winter, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Arthur if they are currently dating him.

Inbox message:
Happy New Year, darling.

Hey.

You changed my life forever, in the best of ways. I still can't believe you and I found each other.

Here's to seeing in the New Year together, and the promise of many more to come.

With all my love,
your Arthur

The video includes a cutscene of the Drifter and Arthur alone on a balcony on New Year's Eve.

[Arthur and the Drifter look at each other with gentle smiles, then step towards one another. Arthur takes the Drifter's face with one hand, and the Drifter puts their hand around the back of Arthur's neck. The two meet and kiss as the New Year's Eve countdown reaches zero. A dialogue line from Arthur plays after the kiss.]

"I remember thinking: 'I could die happy right now. But please, not yet.'"

"I was so afraid. Even then. I never wanted to let you go."

"Standing there in your arms amid all the insanity, I was finally home."

"That was the only victory worth fighting for. You."

"In that moment, with fireworks in the sky and hope in the air at last, I felt reborn."

Gameplay dialogue

Arthur provides mission control for the following missions:

Assassination (Liberty Square, Höllvania)

Like the other Hex members, Arthur has dialogue during missions, which can be heard when fighting alongside him in a bounty, or if the Tenno is using Excalibur with Arthur's Gemini skin, or if someone in their squad is doing so.

Arthur Gemini dialogue

Technocyte Coda

Arthur also has dialogue if the Drifter finds a mixtape during a Höllvania mission and uploads it via terminal, announcing the creation of a Technocyte Coda.

"Okay. Aoi says: 'Tell the Drifter they are now being hunted by On-Lyne, only it's not them, it's the Techrot, it stole their shapes, oh sweet Lua, this is horrible. Emoticon. Emoticon. Emoticon.'"

"It turns out Aoi's conspiracy theories were true. On-Lyne really have been cloned and used to create Techrot parodies. I'm sorry to say you just attracted their attention."

"Viruses are dangerous. Techrot viruses are lethal. The one you just created has based itself on On-Lyne for some reasons I can't even pretend to fathom. But I doubt mimicking a boy band will make it any less of a headache."

"Drifter. New Techrot Coda just hatched. Tracking your Void-saturated DNA signature. Has an expiry date of never. You might be stuck with this one for a while."

"If Amir's take on the situation is accurate, you're now being stalked by a knockoff clone of a popular late twentieth-century boy band. If you need backup, you know where to find us."

Other appearances

Arthur has other dialogue elsewhere, and is mentioned by a number of other characters.

Other dialogue in:	Mentioned in or by:
Höllvania Central Mall demo	1999 ARG
The Lotus Eaters (post-quest Kinepage messages)	Amir Beckett (and KIM conversations)
Warframe: 1999 comic	Aoi Morohoshi (and KIM conversations)
The Hex animated prologue	Eleanor Nightingale (and KIM conversations)
The Hex	Lettie Garcia (and KIM conversations)
Arthur KIM conversations	Quincy Isaacs (and KIM conversations)
Hex KIM conversations

[Navigation: Hub → Dialogue → Arthur Nightingale]

This dialogue line was removed in Hotfix 38.5.6.