When an expedition asks for a shovel, you have to find it back in the settlement. For the Dusk Creek task, search outside tents and cabins; one player spotted it glowing at night from a fully top-down view. In the demo, look beside a wooden house for a small arrow pointing at it, click the shovel, then return to the treasure site and dig. You don't assign it to scouts by hand.
Shadowcoast Gaming walks through finding the shovel and other items in town:
Where Is the Shovel You Left at Dusk Creek?
The objective "Get the shovel you left at Dusk Creek" sounds like it's at the scout camp, but one player searched the scout camp and Town Hall without luck. Others found it outside a tent and beside a random cabin, so search around the homes. (Some players call the settlement Dust Creek; it's the same place.)
Search outside tents and cabins
Look at the ground around homes, tents included. You're looking for the shovel itself outside a building, not anything in a building menu.
Use a fully top-down view at night
One player only saw it once they moved the camera fully overhead at night, when it glows.
Click the shovel itself
If a cabin menu opens instead, you clicked the building. Change the view and aim at the shovel again.
Where Does the Shovel Appear in the Demo?
In the February 2026 demo quest, players found the shovel beside a wooden house with a small arrow pointing at it. Others described a golden frame or small circles around collectible objects near buildings. The marker is on the object next to the house, not the house.
One demo player found a map and shovel during a tent upgrade; for that step see the tent-to-wooden-hut guide.
What If Clicking It Keeps Opening the Cabin?
Use Q and E to rotate the view until the marked object and the house are clearly apart, then click the object. The overhead night view also makes it stand out.
Do Scouts Need to Carry the Shovel?
No. In the demo, once you pick the shovel up in the settlement it becomes usable on the next visit to the site. You can leave scouts at the treasure spot, collect the shovel, and go back to dig.
At the demo site north of the settlement, a player recommended clicking every object, including the wooden crate, then revisiting the stone piles. You're done when digging starts instead of the "you need a shovel" conversation.
What If the Demo Still Says You Need a Shovel?
Some players picked it up, went back to the stone piles, and still got the missing-shovel conversation (sometimes with a speech bubble stuck on screen). The February 2026 workaround was to send the scouts back to the settlement, then back to the treasure site; see the return-scouts guide if bringing them home is the problem.
One player only saw the shovel appear near a house with an arrow after their third visit to the site. If it hasn't appeared yet, revisit the site and search the settlement again.
Next, if you're organising expeditions, see how to unlock the Scout Hut; if you're looking for a quarry, see the stone quarry location guide.