Blood Register is a short story written by Paul Kirsch and published by Obsidian Entertainment on November 3, 2015. It is the second in a series of short stories, written by members of the Pillars of Eternity developer team.
It can be downloaded in various e-book formats from Obsidian's website, and is also part of the collected Pillars I omnibus, obtainable during the Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire backer campaign.
Summary[ | ]
Story[ | ]
Neolas, an orlan, is conducting a census in Loghome to collect data on the Hollowborn epidemic of Waidwen's Legacy. After a day of surveys from untrusting villagers, he finds that the Legacy is getting worse. He and his elven bodyguard, Gacgen, stay at the Darling Fampyr inn for the night, where Neolas plans incentives to gain the trust of the locals. Gacgen is skeptical, believing that they'll only be receptive if enticed with gold. The two plan to head to a hut on the outskirts of town and then onto Eina's Rest.
Neolas and Gacgen head towards a hut in the woods to continue their census on the Hollowborn epidemic. They find the hut overgrown and emitting a foul smell. Drashok Green-Thumb, a bearded old Eld Aedyran man, initially refuses to answer questions but is persuaded with the promise of a golden Duc via a raffle. He reveals himself as a gardener with no family and knowledge of the Legacy. However, during the conversation, Gacgen senses danger and attacks Drashok after noticing the fungus and moss lowering from the roof and walls. Drashok attacks them, and Gacgen kills him with his sword. In a panic, Neolas drops his ledger in a patch of mushrooms. Gacgen explains that the man's body was feeding juvenile sporelings, which caused the fungus growth. Gacgen sets the hut on fire to end the infestation.
The pair reach Eina's Rest and gather more data, but Neolas is dissatisfied with the information he has gathered on the Legacy so far. They rest at an inn, and Gacgen suggests traveling to Eir Glanfath to the east to find answers, despite the Glanfathans' reputation for being unfriendly to outsider. Gacgen reveals he is an orphan and grew up on the border of Dywrood, hoping to find his family in Eir Glanfath. He shows Neolas the only item that was left to him, a belt buckle adorned with the symbol of a wolf on its face. Neolas is skeptical about the journey but agrees, and Gacgen lays out a plan for their route.
In the morning they start their journey towards Eir Glanfath and meet an orlan named Alrow who tells them about a blind orlan who might be able to help with the Legacy. The blind orlan emerges, and tells Gacgen that his essence is familiar and advises them to visit a nearby marketplace with a wolf sigil. She also tells Neolas that the birth records of the Keepers of the Stone might be helpful, but they are unlikely to share them with outsiders. Before leaving, she comments that Neolas smells of bad earth, and Neolas discovers that part of his ledger has become infested with fungus, forfeiting days of hard work.
Neolas and Gacgen search for a market for a day and a half and eventually find two groups of Glanfathans, the Keepers of the Stone and Guided Compass traders, who share their wisdom, curious about the outsiders and why they're visiting the marketplace. Eventually, they find members of Ethik Nôl, a group of druidic Glanfathan dwarves known for their warlike nature and obsession with ritual sacrifice and blood magic. They also find an herbalist who can brew a specialized fungicide to treat Neolas' ledger, which is now almost entirely infested with gray fuzz. The herbalist confirms that the crisis of the Legacy is only a rumor in Maiden Falls, which gives Neolas some optimism.
Eventually they find a hut with a symbol of a wolf painted in blood on its walls, where they meet a dwarven merchant brewing a cauldron of crimson fluid. The dwarf recognizes Gacgen and reveals that his family was ritualistically sacrificed, and that their essence was used to make a war paint called "Blaidhcaw" or "wolf's paint". The merchant tries to persuade Gacgen to join their ranks and sacrifice himself to make more of the war paint, but Gacgen refuses and destroys the last pot of the paint, causing the druids to become hostile. Neolas uses fungal spores from his infested census ledger to cause chaos and allow them to escape.
Fleeing from the Glanfathan druids after discovering the horrific truth about Gacgen's family, they finally rest in a wooded clearing at nightfall, where Neolas tries to comfort Gacgen about the fate of his parents. Gacgen reflects on his journey and expresses that a family is capable of remarkable things.