A gloom weaver named He Who Was wants to punish the wicked — or perhaps he just likes to punish people in general, and wickedness isn’t required. In this quest guide, we’ll show you how to help him out or send him on his way.
Map
Points of Interest 1 – He Who Was 2 – Madeline’s Ledger
Background
On the eastern side of the Shadow-Cursed Lands, you’ll encounter a Shadow-Kai Gloom Weaver named He Who Was along with his animal companion Raven (#1). He Who Was will be questioning a dead dwarven woman named Madeline. If you ask He Who Was what’s going on, then he’ll tell you that Madeline tended a bar called the Waning Moon in Reithwin Town — and took what her friends and customers told her in confidence, and used it against them for her own profit and their demise. He Who Was will then ask you to retrieve Madeline’s Ledger from the bar and bring it to him so he can put her on trial for her crimes. This conversation will trigger the quest.
Walkthrough
The Waning Moon is located in the southwestern part of Reithwin Town. To get to Madeline’s Ledger, you’ll first have to deal with Thisobald Thorm. He’ll want you to drink with him and tell him some stories — which is more complicated than it sounds. Please refer to our guide on the Waning Moon for details about how to placate Thisobald without fighting him.
You’ll find Madeline’s Ledger under some loose floorboards behind the bar on the main level of the Waning Moon (#2). You’ll have to beat a passive DC-10 Perception check to detect the floorboards. Each character in your party will get a chance to beat the check, so if you run into some bad luck, you can always swap in new companions and try again.
When you read the ledger, you’ll see that He Who Was was telling the truth. Madeline was definitely ratting out people to the Thorms, including her friends Ben and Marc. It just won’t be clear if she was doing it for profit, or if she was being forced by dark justiciars. Then when you exit the Waning Moon, Raven will pop up briefly and remind you to bring the ledger to He Who Was.
When you return to He Who Was (#1), your only option will be to hand over the ledger. He Who Was will then become a conduit for Madeline’s spirit, and you’ll act as the judge for her trial. So go ahead and ask Madeline for her side of the story. She’ll blame the dark justiciars, and she’ll tell you what they forced Ben and Marc to do — repeatedly stab themselves in the stomach until they died.
There are three ways you can judge the trial:
You can force Madeline to stab herself in the stomach — once or twice. For the first stab, you’ll need to pass a DC-14 Persuasion check. For the second, you’ll need to pass a DC-16 Persuasion check. After each stab, Madeline will apologize for what she did. Each stab will also deal 5 points of damage to He Who Was.
You can call Madeline a coward. If you pass a DC-10 Persuasion check, then she’ll agree with you, and she’ll wish that she had died instead.
You can forgive Madeline for what happened. If you pass a DC-10 Persuasion check, then she’ll return to death content, without suffering.
Afterwards, He Who Was will be happy or not, depending on what happened:
If you called Madeline a coward, or forced her to stab herself once, or failed your Persuasion check, then He Who Was will at least be content with what happened, and he’ll reward you with Raven Gloves and 24 gold. If you have an Acolyte (like Shadowheart) in your party, then appeasing He Who Was will earn you the No Rest for the Wicked inspiration.
If you forgave Madeline or forced her to stab herself twice, then He Who Was will be irate, and he and his Raven will attack you. He Who Was has an aura that gives Disadvantage on saving throws, and he’ll cast spells like Fear and Darkness, but otherwise the battle should not be difficult. Afterwards, you’ll find the note Return at Once on the corpses, indicating that He Who Was has been spending far too long in the Shadow Cursed-Lands. You won’t find the Raven Gloves on him. If you have an Acolyte (like Shadowheart) in your party, then forgiving Madeline will earn you the Let Sleeping Dogs Lie inspiration.
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Steven Carter
Starting with cassette tape games on the TRS-80, Steven has been playing, creating, and writing about games for a long, long time. This makes him experienced, not old. Lately, Steven has been focusing on walkthroughs, making sure everybody knows how to solve Towers of Hanoi puzzles.
