The Hunter's Favor

 is a side quest in.

Synopsis
One of Stalwart's best hunters, Thyrsc, has found his match in a cunning wolf that has repeatedly eluded his efforts to trap and kill it. While his most recent injuries prevent him from making another attempt himself, Thyrsc hopes that the beast can be dealt with before it preys upon more villagers. . According to Thyrsc, the wolf makes its lair in the area, though he has not been able to determine the den's location.

Walkthrough
In Thyrsc's House near the north-east corner of Stalwart Village, you'll find the old hunter Thyrsc. He directs you to look for a particularly large and dangerous wolf in Russetwood which he's had trouble hunting.

Tracking the big wolf
Head to Russetwood.

While exploring the map, you can come across four optional points of interest related to the quest:

If you heal the injured wolf, the wolves in the cave later on will not harm the hunters. The other three points of interest are just informational for now.

At last, make your way to the Wolf Cave at the center of the top edge of the map. It is guarded by wolves and has a trail of blood leading into it. Enter the cave.

Dealing with the big wolf
Inside you'll find the beast you've been tracking: It turns out to be a druid who got stuck in his spiritshifted form and lost his higher cognitive abilities. Several winter wolves accompany him, and they've dragged two injured Stalwart Village hunters into their lair for later consumption.

Decide if you will:


 * Kill the druid wolf
 * This saves the hunters, but you won't get the Ancestor Pendant. (There is another way to save them though, see below.)


 * Help restore the druid wolf to his human form
 * In the dialog, reach out to the druid wolf's soul to learn that he has been cursed for taking a totem from Galawain's shrine. Eventually select the option to back away.
 * If you previously healed the injured winter wolf (see above), it will return the favor by jumping in front of the hunters and guarding them for you while you're away. Otherwise the hunters will be dead when you return (although that only matters if you end up fighting Suldrun i.e. if you exit the cave, re-enter it and approach Suldrun without replacing the Totem as described below, if you actually replace the totem before you return to the cave everyone, including the hunters, is gone expect for Suldrun in human form).
 * Leave the cave and head to the Hunters' Camp on the bottom of the Russetwood map. Find the Hunter's totem in the hollow log. (It is not selectable before you've read the druid wolf's soul and you must be sneaking with a decent Mechanics skill in order for it to appear.)The_hunters_favor_totem.jpg


 * Head to the Shrine of Galawain in the north-east of the map, and place the totem on the altar.
 * Return to the wolf cave and speak with the former druid wolf, who is now human again and turns out to be Suldrun, Thyrsc's son. Decide to:
 * Convince him to return to Stalwart Village.
 * Convince him to avoid Stalwart Village.
 * Kill him.
 * If you let him live, he gives you the Ancestor Pendant.
 * Before you leave, be sure to pick up Curoc's Brand from a corpse frozen to the wall on the far side of the cave.

Return to Stalwart and talk to Thyrsc. He gives you the Cloak of the Frozen Hunt as a reward no matter how you resolved the encounter with the druid wolf. If you ask for some coin, he will also give you for your troubles.