Mash washes up by the ocean, some distance east of Narshe, with mountains blocking passage west. There's a house nearby, so he goes there. "Shadow" plays at the house, but only because Shadow is standing nearby. Mash, who was absent from the previous meeting, doesn't recognize him.

Having Shadow join here is optional, and he may leave the group early if he feels like it, though never until after the Imperial Army Encampment. Even so, it seems rather odd that Shadow, previously portrayed as a merciless killer for hire, would freely help Mash, but perhaps we shouldn't ask too many questions.

Regardless, Shadow fights well and can throw nearly any weapon at enemies for substantial damage. Special scrolls with magic-like effects and increasing access to better weaponry as the game progresses only add to his options. Additionally, his dog will sometimes intercept attacks meant for him, preventing damage, and may also strike back. See the character entry for Shadow for details on Throw, Interceptor, and Shadow's odds of leaving.

A chocobo-riding merchant in green Imperial armor appears here, so stock up on anything you need, like Shuriken for Shadow to Throw.

Seriously, buy all the Shuriken you can. Throw gets a damage bonus on top of ignoring defense and evasion, and Shuriken not only have more power than anything else available for a while, they also cost a fraction of what even a lowly Dagger does.

There's also a peculiar old man in the house itself who seems to think Mash is a repairman, and is of no importance for now. Still...

Note that じじい (jijii) appears in a halfwidth font in-game, like most names and titles when characters are speaking, but no standard font contains halfwidth hiragana, so I can't reproduce the effect here.

But the stove seems to be working just fine.

Apparently he expects everyone who visits to be there to fix something, but for some reason Mash seems to be special.

There's an interesting line around here in the game data that isn't used:

The base has sandbags, tents, equipment, and lots of soldiers. 1-12 "Troops March On" plays in the base.

Some of the events in the camp may play out slightly differently if Shadow is not present.

There's also an unused line around here in the game data.

Two soldiers patrolling nearby start talking to each other.

Cefca walks out of a tent nearby and heads toward the soldiers.

Cefca walks away in another direction.

That's a rather unpleasant way of saying he should learn a thing or two from Leo.

An important looking... well, his uniform's a different color at least... soldier runs up.