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A Voice from the Past is a side quest in Pillars of Eternity.

Synopsis[ | ]

Dalton, a retired adventurer in Copperlane, has been hearing the voice of Rowyna, his former lover and comrade who died at his side almost 60 years ago. In his dreams, she wanders the catacombs beneath the city. He's asked the Watcher to venture down there to search for her.

Walkthrough[ | ]

Dalton (who is north and just west over the bridge of the catacombs entrance) is an old retired adventurer who lives in the Copperlane district of Defiance Bay. He has been plagued by dreams of a woman he used to adventure with named Rowyna, whom he loved. She died fighting 60 years ago, but Dalton feels the dreams are different lately and that she is somehow still here. He asks you to investigate the catacombs.

Head to the catacombs in the southwestern corner of Copperlane. In the catacombs, in a room in the north west you will find the undead animancer Helig. The path to Helig is filled with various skeletons, so it may be a good idea to have crushing weapons to bypass their DR. The two corridors leading to him also contain traps, so make sure to keep an eye out in sneak mode. Helig will tell you that Rowyna died in battle with him. He claims to remember her but will not tell you anything unless you get his grimoire back from his former rival Moedred who - since no one knows that he murdered Helig - still works at the Sanitarium. Helig says that Moedred keeps "all that is precious to him" in a trunk in his lab, and hands you the key used to open it. If you want, you can also just attack and kill Helig at this point. He will drop the Soulward Amulet which you can return to Dalton.

Moedred is in the south end of the basement of the Sanitarium. He will admit to murdering Helig but claims he did it because the man was pure evil. He says the chest Helig asked you to search contains a dangerous monster and that he does not have any grimoire. Examining the chest (Perception check) shows evidence that supports that a monster is in it. Now that he knows Helig is "alive" he asks you to go back and end him.

Should you choose to open the chest (with the key that Helig gave you earlier), a Wicht pops out and kills Moedred before you can intervene.

Helig will get angry and attack you when you return and (indirectly) tell him that you did not open the chest (you have no option for lying). When he dies you find that he had his grimoire on him, as well as the Soulward Amulet, which contains some of Rowyna's soul.

If you killed Moedred by opening the chest, you can instead let Helig know that Moedred is dead and he will reward you with the amulet.

You can now finish the quest in 3 ways: Keep the amulet, give it to Dalton, or destroy it to release her soul.

  • Destroying the amulet yourself results in a moderate negative reputation with Defiance Bay.
  • If you give it to Dalton, you can convince him to destroy the amulet with 15 Resolve or 13 Intellect resulting in a moderate positive reputation with Defiance Bay and Benevolent disposition.

Notes[ | ]

Role-playing tips[ | ]

  • If you ask Eorn whether he has seen Rowyna, he states that he heard voices coming from the northwest.
  • In a crate near Helig you'll find a Tarnished Locket. You can sell it or give it to the Revenant close to the crate for some little flavor text, as the poor creature seems to be somehow fixated on that thing. It's most likely nothing but a loose end and has no significant effect gameplay wise. However, some players have interpreted this to mean that the revenant is actually Rowyna who retains a semblance of awareness to care for the memory of Dalton even in her sorry state. This view is supported by the fact that the tarnished locket shows an image of a noble, albeit with the face part being too tarnished to recognize the painted. Dalton, when giving the player his quest, mentions that he was a noble and that he and Rowyna were lovers. The revenant's fixation on the locket implies that the person painted in the locket had a close relationship with the revenant, and when the fact that Helig is a necromancer who killed Rowyna is combined with this information, players are lead to believe that the revenant could a reanimated corpse of Rowyna. Nevertheless, this interpretation remains a conjecture without a more solid evidence.

Behind the scenes[ | ]

Journal[ | ]

quests\01_defiance_bay_coppleane\01_qst_voice_past
ID Objectives
0 A Voice from the Past
10000 Today I met Dalton, a retired adventurer in Copperlane. He's been hearing the voice of Rowyna, his lover and comrade who died at his side almost 60 years ago.

In his dreams, she wanders the catacombs beneath the city. He's asked me to venture down there to search for her.

1 Enter the catacombs.
10001 Dalton told me of an entrance to the catacombs in the southwest corner of Copperlane. I'll need to find it if I'm to search for Rowyna.
2 Search for Rowyna.
10002 I've made it into the catacombs. Unfortunately, Dalton couldn't give me more specific directions, but if Rowyna's been wandering around down here, there's bound to be some sign of her.
20000 I've spoken with Eorn, an orlan hiding in the catacombs. He hasn't seen Rowyna, but he mentioned hearing voices coming from the northwest side of the canal.
20001 I slew the Helig, the wizard who killed Rowyna all those years ago. There's no sign of her, but perhaps I can find a clue in his chambers.
20007 I found a glowing amulet on Helig's corpse. It may hold some significance for Dalton, if nothing else.
20015 Upon further examination, I realized that Rowyna's soul was trapped in the bloodstone amulet.
3 Travel to Brackenbury Sanitarium.
10003 I met Helig of Thein, the wizard who killed Rowyna all those years ago. He claims to know where she is, but he demanded a favor from me.

Helig wants me to retrieve his grimoire to settle an old debt. He's confident that it's been locked away by Moedred, an animancer at Brackenbury Sanitarium and Helig's old rival.

20011 I slew Helig in the catacombs. There's no sign of Rowyna, but perhaps I can find a clue in his chambers.
20012 I found a glowing amulet on Helig's corpse. It may hold some significance for Dalton, if nothing else.
20016 Upon further examination, I realized that Rowyna's soul was trapped in the bloodstone amulet.
4 Retrieve Helig's research from Moedred's laboratory.
10004 I've entered Brackenbury Sanitarium. According to Helig, Moedred keeps everything of value in a trunk in his laboratory. He's given me a key to open it.
20021 Moedred confessed to killing Helig, but he also explained that Helig was a vile and dangerous man. I could continue helping Helig, or I could return to the catacombs and finish what Moedred started.
5 Return to Helig in the catacombs.
10005 When I opened Moedred's trunk, a wicht girl leapt out and tore him apart. I suspect Helig's revenge had nothing to do with his grimoire.

No doubt Helig will be thrilled to hear all about it.

20013 I have slain the undead wizard Helig - for good this time. There's no sign of Rowyna, but perhaps I can find a clue in his chambers.
20014 I found a glowing amulet on Helig's corpse. It may hold some significance for Dalton, if nothing else.
20017 Upon further examination, I realized that Rowyna's soul was trapped in the bloodstone amulet.
6 Return to Dalton in Copperlane.
10006 I recovered an amulet containing Rowyna's soul. Giving this to Dalton would likely bring him comfort, albeit at Rowyna's expense; I doubt she's enjoyed being held prisoner in it for so many years.
7 Kill Helig of Thein.
10007 Helig's even worse than I thought. Moedred told me about his former colleague's sinister experiments. I've resolved to finish Helig once and for all.
20008 I have slain the undead wizard Helig - for good this time. There's no sign of Rowyna, but perhaps I can find a clue in his chambers.
20009 I found a glowing amulet on Helig's corpse. It may hold some significance for Dalton, if nothing else.
20018 Upon further examination, I realized that Rowyna's soul was trapped in the bloodstone amulet.
9 Return to Helig in the catacombs.
10009 I slew Moedred. It's not what Helig wanted me to do, but what's done is done. I need to return to him and let him know what happened.
20019 I killed Helig in the catacombs. I should search him in case he has anything to could lead me to Rowyna.
End states
Yes Destroyed Amulet (Dalton OK)
30001 Helig had imprisoned Rowyna's soul in a bloodstone amulet. I convinced Dalton to destroy it to set her free.
Yes Kept Soul Amulet
30002 Helig had imprisoned Rowyna's soul in a bloodstone amulet. Her essence makes this a powerful talisman, which I've decided to keep.
Yes Gave Soul Amulet to Dalton
30003 Helig had imprisoned Rowyna's soul in a bloodstone amulet. I gave it to Dalton, who was grateful to have his love with him again.
Yes Returned Amulet
30004 I found an amulet belonging to Rowyna in the catacombs and returned it to Dalton. He was grateful to have this token of his love.
Yes Kept Amulet
30005 I found an amulet belonging to Rowyna in the catacombs. It's quite powerful, so I decided to keep it.
Yes Lied to Dalton
30006 I told Dalton that he was merely dreaming about Rowyna. He was disappointed, but he thanked me for my help.
No Killed Dalton Before Quest End
30007 Dalton came to an unfortunate end.
Yes Destroyed Amulet (Dalton mad)
30008 Helig had imprisoned Rowyna's soul in a bloodstone amulet. I set her free, much to Dalton's dismay.

References

  1. Obsidian [Obsidian] (July 12, 2024). "Road to Avowed w/ Area Designer Matthew Perez", at 33:45 - Twitch.


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