Betrayer of the Horadrim

Betrayer of the Horadrim is the sixth quest of Act II of Diablo III.

Transcript

Core

• Leah: The guards were asking you about this...Black Soulstone. I remember reading about it in Uncle’s journal, but it didn’t seem important.

• Adria: Oh, but it is. It is the key to defeating evil forever! It was created by the mage Zoltun Kulle to trap demonic souls.

• Leah: Yes! He was a renegade Horadrim, dismembered by his brethren before he could activate the soulstone. His head was sealed away in the Dahlgur Oasis.

• Adria: We must retrieve it, because if we’re to use the soulstone to defeat Belial and Azmodan, Zoltun Kulle must live again!

• Follower
  • Templar: I do not like this. We can defeat Belial without using a wizard’s foul magic.

• Cutscene
  • Necromancer: I have a new ally...the witch, Adria. She believes that the Black Soulstone will allow us to defeat the Lords of Hell. But this remains to be seen...

• Follower
  • Enchantress: I think we may have a visitor up ahead.
  • Templar: It’s quite a maze down here, isn’t it?

• Emperor Hakan II: Listen to me. I cannot talk for long. Belial’s guards are constantly watching me!

• Class
  • Necromancer: Are they?
  • Wizard: Emperor Hakan?

• Emperor Hakan II: Forgive me for my behavior at court. The guards would have killed me had I sided with you. But I will help you now as I can.

• Emperor Hakan II: You must be headed to the oasis. I can open this gate for you.

• Follower
  • Templar: By the Light...I’ve never seen a place like this.

• Follower
  • Templar: Brast, one of the historians of my order once came here. He called it a “fertile valley of slender trees and bold flowers. A place where evil has not found root.”

• Class
  • Necromancer: Traces of Zoltun Kulle’s magic linger here...

• Follower
  • Templar: Brast never wrote about this!

• Adria: If you keep holding back, then you’ll never improve.

• Leah: Agh!

• Adria: Leah, are you all right?

• Leah: Yes...I think so.

• Adria: I’m sorry to push you like this, but it will all be for the best in the end.

• Leah: I know.

• Adria: It is time. Leah, cast the spell as I taught you!

• Zoltun Kulle: I live again!

• Tyrael: Zoltun Kulle. We need you to activate the Black Soulstone. We would use it to trap the last two Lords of Hell!

• Zoltun Kulle: I know your voice, stranger. It has haunted me in death, just as it commanded me in life. Tyrael!

• Tyrael: I am. But now mortal.

• Zoltun Kulle: Ah...Fate is...whimsical.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Sewers)

• Class
  • Necromancer: You must act. Retake control of your city!
  • Wizard: How did this all happen?

• Emperor Hakan II: There’s little I can do. Between my advisors and the Imperial Guard my every move and action are controlled. I have tried to fight back, but Belial’s influence is strong. But now you’ve given me a chance. Perhaps my only chance.

• Class
  • Necromancer: How can you aid me if you are being watched?
  • Wizard: How will you be able to assist me?

• Emperor Hakan II: You’re here to kill Belial, aren’t you? I can help.

• Class
  • Necromancer: But you have no power.
  • Wizard: I wouldn't want to put you in danger.

• Emperor Hakan II: I can still fight in my own way. I want my empire back. I will find where Belial is hiding and deliver him to you.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You have already proved yourself untrustworthy.
  • Wizard: Why should I trust you? You've tried to kill us.

• Emperor Hakan II: I told you it was not my choice. My every move is controlled, and I am surrounded by enemies. But I swear to you I will help you. I will prove it to you.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Hidden Camp)

• Adria: Zoltun Kulle. A legend. There is no doubt in my mind he is as powerful as the stories say. But for every bit of his genius, he was surely mad. He was obsessed with immortality and power.

• Tyrael: A madman. We would do better to leave him asleep in the desert than to call on him for aid.

• Adria: You have a better idea?

• Tyrael: I do not. It is merely a warning.

• Class
  • Necromancer: After what I’ve heard of him, I’d prefer not to become involved with this Zoltun Kulle.

• Adria: It will be dangerous, but you have faced great peril before. If Belial and Azmodan invade, you will have much more to worry about than a dismembered wizard.

• Leah: I don’t like dealing with Kulle any better than you do, but I see no other way. If Adria says we must, then we must. Uncle Deckard trusted her, and so will I.

• Tyrael: Three hundred years ago, I selected Kulle and six others to form the Horadrim. He was a great man who was driven mad by his long quest to hunt evil.

• Class
  • Necromancer: He is not the first. What did he do?

• Tyrael: He delved into powers not meant for man, trying to fashion an artifact that could fill his empty heart with the souls of angels and demons. The Horadrim had no choice but to slay him. The order...never recovered.

• Kala: I was just another highborn courtier in the palace, but I dreamed of being a famous poet like Solan. Have you read his work? It makes your heart sing! My ability is nowhere near his, but I suppose you will see that for yourself. "When the desert sands silence their whispers in the night, and the thousand lights of the stars bleed into the darkness, I will find you in the void. My love will pour from me as words pour from my pen."

• Adria: After surviving the devastation in Tristram all those years ago, I sword vengeance upon Diablo and his ilk. I’ve sacrificed everything for it. This is my path and I will follow it through to its bloody end.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Leah is a very trusting individual, isn’t she?

• Adria: She has a kind heart.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You could not be more different.

• Adria: Kindness will not help us survive in these dark times.

• Adria: The Lord of Lies is cunning. He wears many masks to hide his shifting nature from us. But we will have an advantage over him — the Black Soulstone. Belial fears its power, for soulstones have bested his siblings in the past and he could be imprisoned as well.

• Leah: I miss Uncle Deckard so much… It’s hard going on without him.

• Class
  • Necromancer: His soul is at peace. I can assure you of that.

• Leah: Thank you… I’m going to get back to my research.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Have you faced Belial before?

• Tyrael: Not openly. He was never one to lead an army. Always in the shadows, much like his mentor Mephisto. He wields intrigue and artifice as proficiently as you wield your weapons.

• Class
  • Necromancer: What happened during your time with the Vecin?

• Haedrig Eamon: When we first joined the wagon train, we were just two lost souls. The Vecin thought it was unbearably romantic, a pair of lovers on the run from their pasts. I suppose it might have even been true. A mystic with the Vecin recognized Mira’s talent immediately. We stayed with them while Mira learned from her. Along the way, we fell in love and married. I’ve never known anything as surely as my love for her.

• Class
  • Necromancer: She cast quite a spell on you.

• Haedrig Eamon: Never mind.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Do you know the fate of your sisters?

• Enchantress: They should have awakened as well...but their mission has already ended.

• Class
  • Necromancer: What do you mean?

• Enchantress: I sought out the closest two before I met you. They lay dead and mutilated in their chambers. The others are some distance away. I fear the worst.

• Class
  • Necromancer: How did they die?

• Enchantress: There were traces of daemonic magic upon their wounds. But surely the Prophet could have protected them. Where has he gone...?

• Class
  • Necromancer: Have you ever been in love?

• Scoundrel: Ah yes, the unreasonable one I spoke of earlier. I loved her every inch of my heart before it went black as coal.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Where is she now?

• Lyndon: Well, she did what all unreasonable women do: married the wrong man.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You did not intervene?

• Scoundrel: Wouldn’t have been easy… He was my brother.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Caldeum Bazaar)

• Villager: It’s disgusting! I’ve seen that man/woman going in and out of the sewers.

• Villager #2: You never can tell with those types.

• Refugee: What in the Burning Hells are you? You look like you could storm the city gates all by yourself. Maybe I could convince you to try?

• Villager: The imperial guards are demons in disguise! I swear it’s true!

• Villager: I hear the Imperial Guard’s hold on the city is weakening. I hear some of their prisoners escaped!

• Villager: I remember when Caldeum was the shining Jewel of the East.

• Villager #2: I used to dream of coming here.

• Villager #3: Lost some of its luster now, eh?

• Noblewoman: You can’t treat me like this, like...like some commoner!

• Villager: The sands will wear your skin away. It’s not like it was out there.

• Villager #2: I don’t care. I cannot take it here anymore.

• Villager: Calm down. Things are changing...

• Villager: They will never break our spirits!

• Villager: I know a lot of people are happy that the nobles are out here with us, but we’re used to this life. It must be hard on them.

• Noblewoman: How long must this continue? It’s hard to stay hopeful...

• Sadeir the Innkeeper: I heard you were responsible for destroying the Coven. They were a bit soft in the head, were they not?

• Villager: There’s an underground movement to depose the emperor. That’s why they have us all trapped out here. They’re trying to break us.

Quest Log

• Part 1
  • Barbarian: I have no reason to trust this Zoltun Kulle that Adria speaks of, but we have no other choice. A mage so powerful he could not be killed...and we are going to bring him back? This seems like a bad plan.
  • Crusader: Zoltun Kulle. I have come across this name in my researches, and he always sounded a bit mad. I suppose some might say the same of our little group. But if we need this Kulle then we shall revive him.
  • Demon Hunter: Raising Zoltun Kulle sounds troublesome, but sometimes one has to get into more trouble before on can get out of it. If we truly need this wizard’s assistance to defeat the last Lords of hell, then I have no reservations. I will take any help as long as the demons are destroyed.
  • Monk: My path brings me into danger. Adria believes we can succeed against Belial and his brother Azmodan by obtaining the Black Soulstone, an artefact that can contain the souls of the Lords of Hell. But only a dead mage named Zoltun Kulle can retrieve the stone. Except he is not dead...He was torn apart by the Horadrim, hidden away to keep the world safe from him. Now we must restore him and hope that he will aid us.
  • Necromancer: Dealing with Zoltun Kulle seems like a foolish notion, but the Black Soulstone is the best possible prison for Belial. For if we killed him, he would be reborn again in time. There is no true death for the Lords of Hell.
  • Wizard: Zoltun Kulle. I have heard of him, have learned from the tomes that he wrote, and I know that the mages were wary of him. Of course, they fear any who show such natural abilities with magic, but in his case I believe that there was something to worry about. Nonetheless, we have no other option but to seek his help. It seems a mad quest, but Adria is certain the Black Soulstone and this infamous wizard are vital to Belial's defeat.

• Part 2
  • Barbarian: Perhaps all is not as it seems. The child emperor of Caldeum found me in the sewers. Though he is powerless because of the Imperial Guard, he has sworn he will try to discover Belial's secret plans. But first I must find the head of Zoltun Kulle, hidden away in a dungeon beneath Dahlgur Oasis. Water will be nice.
  • Crusader: The child emperor of Caldeum found me in the sewers, and swore to try and help as he can, despite being restricted by his own guard. We shall see if he is of any help against Belial, but for now I must focus on finding the head of Zoltun Kulle, hidden away in a dungeon beneath the Dahlgur Oasis.
  • Demon Hunter: The young emperor has shown himself to be stronger than I first though. He found me in the sewers and offered to aid me in finding Belial. He believes he can determine where the demon lord is hiding, and although I doubt he can do much, I welcome his efforts. For my part, I must retrieve Zoltun Kulle’s head.
  • Monk: The emperor is braver than I thought! As I trudged through the sewers toward the oasis where Zoltun Kulle’s head is buried, I was met by the child, who had slipped from the palace to apologize and offer his aid. He will do what he can to locate Belial... as much as he can with the Imperial Guard watching him, anyway. I hope I have judged him wrong and he can do this, for it would be a great help to me.
  • Necromancer: Emperor Hakan claims that he is sympathetic to my cause, but I do not believe him. What ordinary child would sneak into the sewers precisely when I am leaving? I will watch him closely.
  • Wizard: Perhaps the child is not useless as I thought. The emperor met me in the sewers beneath the city, having slipped away from his watchers. Surrounded as he is by the minions of Belial, he is powerless to do much, but Hakan has promised to do what he can to determine where Belial is hiding. I don't have much hope for his success, but I will not turn down any help.

• Part 3
  • Barbarian: I have the head of Zoltun Kulle. It is a lifeless thing, but Leah and Adria believe that within it the mage still lives. We shall see. I hope all this has been worth it.
  • Crusader: I have the head of Zoltun Kulle. In my years of pursuing the Crusade, I have carried severed human heads with me for various reasons several times, but this is the first time I've been planning to resurrect the head's original owner. This should prove interesting.
  • Demon Hunter: I have found Zoltun Kulle’s head. It seems well preserved for all the years it has been separated from the rest of his body, but it falls to Leah and Adria to find life within it, for I see nothing.
  • Monk: I have the head of Zoltun Kulle. If he has cheated death, then he is powerful, and he is a fool. Death is part of the cycle of life and rebirth; to sidestep it is to lose your humanity.
  • Necromancer: I have retrieved Zoltun Kulle’s head. The mad wizard’s spirit still dwells within it, but he cannot awaken without help. Should things go awry, I suppose I could use him as a new phylactery.
  • Wizard: I have the head of Zoltun Kulle. It is lifeless and silent. I do not see how it can help us, but I was never much for necromancy...or whatever magic Adria plans to rouse the wizard with. Adria says he is not dead, but I have my doubts. I once read that Kulle learned to cheat death itself. How interesting if that turns out to be true.