Hiding Behind the Truth

So, did you ever find Innocentin? He's probably a beggar by now.

What brings you here?

"I'm taking care of some business."

What's your business here?

(This quest may only be undertaken by a character who is of level 66 or above and has cleared the residents of the Forest of the Dead.)

What business could you have with me?

Show him the totem

So, did you ever find Innocentin? He's probably a beggar by now.

What's your business here?

Show him the totem

Where did you find such an ugly doll?

By the gods, you should give it to me!

"No!"

Did you lose what you wanted to show me? You should be more careful!

You refuse?

You could buy a nicer one at the blacksmith shop for 1000 adena.

I'll buy it for 10,000! What do you say?

"No!"

What do you want for the doll?

"Give me the key." "Tell me the true nature of the doll."

I don't know what key you're talking about.

"The dark Magus said I would find the key here."

What dark Magus are you talking about?

"If you play dumb, then I'm leaving."

I can't help you. You should call on Agripel, he holds the highest position here.

May I read that piece of paper?

"Of course."

This is the Contract!

"What does it say?"

This Contract was made between the Devil Triol, Black Mystic Hardin and the Lord of the Forest of the Dead.

Hardin! If you spell his name backwards...Of course!

"Are you OK?"

This Contract was made between the Devil Triol, Black Mystic Hardin and the Lord of the Forest of the Dead.

Hardin! If you spell his name backwards...Of course!

You look so pale! Are you okay?

Now I can remember...

Why was I using the large room?

...The sound of fighting...I ran away...

I was wearing the hairpin.

...Rose was wearing the red dress!!

"Are you OK?"

DRESS...THE DRESS!.MY RED DRESS!.IT'S DISAPPEARED.WHAT'S GOING ON?.WHERE IS ROSE?.WHY AM I HERE?.DADDY I'M SCARED!...ROSE.ROSE PUT ON MY DRESS AND LEFT!.MY RED DRESS...PEOPLE ARE COMING!.NO!.DADDY YOU SHOULDN'T GO OUTSIDE!.WHERE'S NIDRAH?.SAVE MY FATHER!.YOU'RE A MYSTIC!.YOU CAN DO ANYTHING.SAVE MY FATHER!.NIDRAH!!...DON'T DIE ROSE!.ARE FATHER AND BROTHER DEAD TOO?.WHERE IS IT?.EVERYTHING IS IN THE RED DRESS!!.HELP!!!...

...

"WAKE UP...! SNAP OUT OF IT!!"

When the Contract was signed...Lidia...the red dress...

I need to find the dress Rose wore!

When the Contract was signed...Lidia...the red dress...

I must find the dress Rose wore!

This is it! The dress Rose was wearing! Now I remember...

I'll tell you what I know, but...

...please...leave me alone for a minute.

I'll tell you, but please...leave me alone for a minute.

"I'll wait."

...

"Wait!"

Now I'll answer your questions as best I can.

I'm grateful to have met you.

"What about the dress?"

This dress is... It was Lidia's most treasured dress. She wore this red dress on special occasions with the Moon Face Flower hairpin.

And on the day of the tragedy of Hellmann Forest... Rose, the maid of Lidia, wore it to divert attention from Lidia.

"Why is Rose's grave empty?"

The dress deceived the attackers. Rose sacrificed herself for Lidia.

"Why the fake grave?"

Lidia believes Rose is buried there. She signed the Contract and became Lord of the Forest of the Dead because of Rose's sacrifice.

"Tell me more about the Contract."

Hardin, Triol and Lidia all had secret Contracts before signing this one. I can only tell you about Lidia's.

"What was it?"

Lidia signed a Contract with Nidrah, that is, Hardin, to summon the devil Triol.

She gave her life to Hardin, who then played a trick on her.

"What trick?"

He took her memory and put it in another body. He gave only her knowledge and grievances to Triol, who used them to create the Lord of the Forest of Dead, Lidia von Hellmann.

And the memory of Lidia was put in the corpse of the maid Rose who was the best friend of Lidia's. Rose was then resurrected as the first vampire when the Lord was created.

To prevent her from remembering anything, the hairpin, dress and diary are hidden separately in the forest. To prevent Lidia von Hellmann from remembering anything.

"So who are you?"

I am Lidia von Hellmann! I must have written the diary and the letter I gave you. My memory is incomplete and is being controlled by Hardin.

I don't understand why Hardin would help me regain my memory now.

Perhaps you should ask him about it.

I was hoping we would meet again. I forgot to tell you something very important.

My body may be gone, but now I can live my own life and follow my own fate thanks to you.

Hardin controlled the missing piece of my memory, but now it's complete. He no longer has any influence over me!

I feel I got back my real self. For that I am eternally grateful. That's what I wanted to say.

"You're welcome. I wish you the best!"

A black magus is looking for you in the Forest of the Dead. I told him everything that's happened to me. Please meet with him.

When I was younger I used to dream of a hero who would rescue me.

I don't have anything valuable to reward you with, but please take this as a token of my undying gratitude.

I've heard your story. That totem is precious to us.

If you give it to me, I will tell you about anything you wish.

In the name of our gods...

"OK, I will!"

First, the totem!

What can I help you with?

"Tell me about the true nature of the doll."

This can't be of use to you, but since you asked, I'll tell you. As a sacred object it is a blessing to us, but can be used to cast a curse on others.

"What about the god of your people?"

I see what your questions are leading to.

We can't say out loud the name of our god here, but this much I can tell you. We're not followers of Einhasad!

"Tell me about the key."

To tell you of the key I must know where you got the totem. Did you get it from a dark Magus?

"Yes."

Since the dark Magus himself asked you for it, here's the key.

You'd still better not use it yourself if you can help it.

Take the key

Did that help?

Take the key and return to the dark Magus. Your path is filled with peril, I would recommend against it.

Don't you have the key already?

Take it back to the dark Magus. Your path is filled with peril, I would recommend against it.

You're back! I can't believe you fought the undead servant and returned alive!

"Here's Triol's totem."

By the gods! You've slain the undead servant, who was created from the research on the magic of the necropolis!

Did you read the Contract? I feel bad about the Hellmann family, but someone had to shake things up and create a gap for us to enter through!

Nobody can stop us from infiltrating Elmore now!

"I know what you did!"

By the gods! You've slain the undead servant, who was created from the research on the magic of the necropolis and is both dead and alive!

Did you read the Contract? I feel bad about the Hellmann family, but someone had to shake things up and create a gap for us to enter through!

Nobody can stop us from infiltrating Elmore now!

"I know what you did!"

What crime? Ha! The gap was small when we first got here, but we've become so important that Rune can no longer exist without us!

We stopped the insurrection, punished the rebels and expelled the devil worshippers! What else? Lidia von Hellmann, the Lord of the Forest of the Dead, pledged everything she owns to our master!

"That Contract is between a demon and a witch. You can't hold us responsible for anything in it!"

Don't be angry with me! No matter how much power a Mystic possesses, he can't fight the great powers that move this world.

You know everything that happened in the Forest of the Dead. Perhaps you know something that I don't.

You still can't do anything about it!

Truth alone cannot change the balance of power!

"Who massacred the Hellmann family?"

You were right on this. Our order, the Benandanti Cartel, has worked for a long time to take over this manor. The Hellmann's tragedy was an unfortunate by-product of our efforts.

It's time for me to attend the worship service for Einhasad, the great god of light!

Why don't you do what you want?

"What is that?"

What will you do?

Meet with Lidia Meet with Hardin

There is nothing for you here. Fine what you want to do!

What do you want to do?

Meet with Lidia Meet with Hardin

You want to meet Lidia?

You want to meet Hardin?

Haven't you decided yet? Do you have something to say?

You seem to be looking for someone!

Are you about to run crying to someone's maid?

Haven't you decided yet? Do you have something to say?

You seem to be looking for someone!

Are you going to report me to the Magus of the dark arts?

Without this, it will be hard to talk with them. Guard it well.

Do you still have the totem I gave you? You'll need it to talk with the priests at the temple in the Rune Township.

Did you get the key?

Then you're ready to know the truth of what happened in the Forest of the Dead.

It's hidden inside the forest.

Find the lock for the key.

Listen

Find where the truth behind the history of this forest is hidden. Your Map will guide you. Look for the staff filled with gems. The one who recorded everything can tell you what is inside.

Did you read the Contract? You must have many questions. We'll talk of it when you know more.

Ask the girl who's heard the name Nidrah, she knows of the Contracts.

You met the real Lidia? Was she normal? My hypothesis has been proved!

You also took part in my experiment, so I'll tell you what you want to know.

"Are you Hardin?"

If I were Nidrah and Nidrah is... I don't want to say that name.

We're both Mages of the dark arts, that's enough. Did I tell you about the red dress?

Anyway, it doesn't matter whether or not I'm him.

"What about the double Contract?"

She remembered too? Then Lidia's power will become weaker and her territory may be robbed by adventurers.

Well, since she's immortal, maybe she won't challenge again.

About the double Contract...

Listen

I'm a victim too. Triol wanted to help the Hellmann family. If Hellmann had become king, it would start a war between Aden and Elmore, and we both would have profited.

Our plan failed when the royal army invaded the forest and slaughtered the Hellmann family.

"What did you do then?"

I was preparing my magic. It's not easy to conjure an army without corpses, so I opened the door to the netherworld to steal the army of Shillen.

While I was preparing, Lidia took Rose's corpse. You know the story from there. I conjured Triol, and Triol made Lidia the Lord of the Forest of the Dead. In the meantime, I started some experiments.

"What experiments?"

I separated her personality into two bodies, and figured the stronger would prey on the weaker. Well, it turned out a little different.

The Lord still controls the forest with magic. At least my friend Loricom still has hope. He brought the Key of Seal from the place where the sun sets.

He has a strange taste for women.

"The place where the sun sets?"

Some say it's the revolutionary army of dusk, but I don't care about such things. I'm interested in knowledge, not power and exploitation.

If you're still angry, go to the temple of the Rune Township. Perhaps the holy relic...I mean the doll will help shed light on things.

Show the relic of Triol to the bogus priests in the temple of the Rune Township. They're the ringleaders behind every tragedy. I'm guessing one of them killed Rose.

Things didn't go as you planned? Justice alone doesn't solve everything.

More important is the will to live. Whether you fight for or against them, your experience will influence your choice. Maybe you'll have to make that choice someday.

Listen

Things didn't go as you planned?

Lidia...I mean the handmaiden, is looking for you. Wait for nightfall and find her.

A group is only as strong as the individuals in it. Anyone can talk with the leader of a group, just like you're talking to me. Don't forget that.

Lidia asked me to give you this as a token of thanks, and since you helped with my experiment, I have something for you as well. Use it well until it's time for you to decide.

This is Rose's tombstone, but how can you be sure that she's really down there?

Dig.

The coffin is out of the tomb.

The coffin is empty! Where is Rose's body?

There is only one piece of red cloth in the coffin.