Cat Locked Chests in City Market: What Happens After He Disappears?

You bought the keys.
You cracked open every locked chest in the City Market.
You turned around… and Cat was gone.

Before you start backtracking saves, Googling “hidden quest,” or hunting for secret triggers: this is exactly how it’s supposed to work in Of Ash and Steel.

Cat is a one-time NPC whose entire purpose is tied to those locked chests.

Once you’ve bought the keys and opened every chest, his role is finished. There’s no follow-up quest, no delayed reward, and no secret NPC waiting somewhere else in the city. His disappearance is intentional, not a bug or a punishment for missing something.

If you received the loot (including the novelty/joke item), then you’ve completed this interaction exactly as the developers intended. There’s nothing left to trigger here — you’re safe to move on without worrying that you broke your save or skipped content.

Who Cat Actually Is (And Isn’t)

Cat isn’t a quest-giver, a faction representative, or some secretly important progression NPC hiding a bigger storyline. He doesn’t tie into reputation systems, late-game unlocks, or branching outcomes. If you’re expecting a quest update, a journal entry, or a marker pointing you somewhere else, it’s not coming.

He’s a one-time vendor, and his role is deliberately simple:

Sell keys for the City Market locked chests
Disappear permanently once those chests are opened

That’s the full loop. There’s no hidden condition to meet, no dialogue you missed, and no second phase that unlocks later. Cat exists purely for this small, self-contained interaction, and once it’s done, the game quietly moves on — just like you should.

So… What Are You Supposed to Do Next?

Nothing. You’re done.

Once all the City Market locked chests are opened, the interaction is completely finished and wrapped up. There’s no extra requirement hiding in the background and no condition you need to fulfill later.

✔ You get the intended loot
✔ One chest contains a joke or novelty weapon
✔ Cat permanently disappears from the City Market
✔ The entire event is marked as complete

There is no next step, no secret questline, and no delayed payoff tied to this encounter. If you’ve been hanging around the market waiting for a new NPC to spawn or a dialogue prompt to appear, you can stop — nothing else is going to trigger. At this point, the game expects you to move on and continue exploring the rest of the world.

Did You Miss Something Secret?

Nope. And you’re definitely not alone in wondering.

A lot of players hit this moment and immediately assume something went wrong, especially because the game doesn’t spell it out for you. Common assumptions include:

Cat disappearing means the event bugged out
There’s a hidden NPC somewhere else in the city
The joke weapon is secretly a clue
The “quest” continues later in the story

None of that is true.

This interaction is intentionally designed as a self-contained world moment, not a branching questline or a setup for future content. Once the chests are opened and Cat leaves, the game considers it finished — no secrets left, no loose ends to chase, and nothing waiting to unlock later.

Is This Ever Bugged?

Usually? No.

Cat disappearing after all chests are opened is intended behavior and works exactly the way the game expects it to. In a normal run, nothing is wrong and nothing is missing — the interaction simply ends once its purpose is fulfilled.

That said, a small number of players have reported technical issues rather than design problems. These can include crashes while opening the final chest, or loot not appearing correctly due to save hiccups or inventory desyncs.

If that happened to you, there are a few simple things to try before panicking:

Reload a hard save from before opening the last chest
Open chests one at a time (don’t spam keys)
Make sure the loot actually entered your inventory

If everything opened normally and you received the rewards, your save is fine and there’s nothing else you need to fix or redo.

Why This Exists at All

The Cat chest setup is basically there to add a little personality to the world rather than push progression or tell a bigger story. It’s meant to reward players who poke around the City Market and interact with things that aren’t marked as quests.

At its core, this interaction serves three simple purposes:

A bit of world flavor that makes the city feel more alive
A small exploration reward for curious players
A tongue-in-cheek joke, capped off with a novelty item

It’s much closer to an easter egg than a full quest. There’s no long-term impact, no branching outcomes, and no reason to revisit it later. It’s designed to be fun, quick, and finished in one go — something you experience, smile at, and then move on from without overthinking it.

Final Answer

Cat disappearing after the City Market locked chests is normal.

This is one of those moments that feels suspicious because the game doesn’t pause to explain it, but nothing went wrong here. Once you’ve bought the keys, opened every locked chest, and collected the rewards, the interaction is fully complete.

You didn’t:

Miss a quest
Break progression
Lock yourself out of content
Trigger a hidden failure state

You did:

Finish the interaction exactly as intended

If the loot is in your inventory — including the joke weapon — then everything worked correctly. There’s no reason to reload saves, wait for a trigger, or search the city for another NPC. Grab the loot, laugh at the novelty item, and move on — you’re completely clear to continue playing Of Ash and Steel.

FAQ: Cat & the City Market Locked Chests

1. Why did Cat disappear from the City Market?

Because you finished his purpose.
Once you buy keys and open all the locked chests, Cat automatically despawns. This is intended behavior in Of Ash and Steel — not a bug and not a missed trigger.

2. Is there a follow-up quest after opening all the chests?

No.
There is no quest continuation, hidden objective, or delayed reward. The Cat interaction is a one-and-done world event, not a questline.

3. Did I miss something important when Cat vanished?

Nope.
If you opened every locked chest and got the loot, you didn’t miss anything at all. Cat disappearing does not lock content, affect endings, or change future NPC interactions.

4. Is the joke/novelty weapon a clue for something later?

No — it’s just a joke.
The novelty weapon is meant as a fun reward, not a puzzle hint or secret progression item. You can safely equip it, stash it, or ignore it without consequences.

5. What should I do if a chest bugged or loot didn’t appear?

That’s a technical issue, not design.

Try this:

Reload a hard save from before opening the final chest
Open chests one at a time
Check your inventory carefully

If the loot appeared normally, your save is 100% fine.

Summary

Cat disappearing = normal
Once all City Market locked chests are opened, Cat is meant to leave. This is intended behavior and not a bug.
No hidden quest = correct
There’s no follow-up mission, secret trigger, or delayed continuation tied to this interaction.
No missed content = true
You didn’t skip anything important, and nothing unlocks later because of Cat or the chests.
Joke weapon = just for fun
The novelty weapon is exactly what it looks like — a playful reward, not a clue or requirement.
Bugs = rare, fixable, not progression-breaking
In the uncommon case something glitches, reloading a save or reopening chests carefully usually fixes it without affecting your playthrough.

Read more article for of ash and steel: