Shadows in the Desert

Shadows in the Desert is the first quest of Act II of Diablo III.

Transcript

Intro

• Necromancer: I must leave Tristram behind...for a greater evil lurks within Caldeum. The Lord of Lies is hiding there...somewhere within the great city.

Core

• Leah: Here we are: Caldeum, Jewel of the East. Uncle Deckard loved this place...

• Tyrael: He wouldn't now that it is under the spell of Belial, Lord of Lies. I can smell his stench on the air.

• Class
  • Necromancer: It would be best to split our forces. You two search for Belial. I shall hunt Maghda.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Are you guarding the refugees over there?

• Asheara: I am not a guard. I am Asheara, commander of the Iron Wolves. We saved these refugees from Maghda’s coven — that even now wreaks havoc throughout the Borderlands.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Where did you last see her?

• Asheara: She’s heading toward Alcarnus, but has blocked the road behind her. However, there is another way: through the Khasim Outpost.

• Iron Wolves Swordsman: This gate leads to Alcarnus. You will need to follow the long road over the Canyon Bridge and through the Khasim Outpost. We haven’t heard anything from the Iron Wolves in the desert. If you make it to the Khasim Outpost, seek out Captain Davyd.

• Follower
  • Templar: Maghda will pay for her wickedness.

• Enchantress: Take heed, traveler. Cultists guard these desert roads, and they will slay any who pass.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I mean to stop them.

• Enchantress: Then you must not go alone. I shall accompany you.

• Enchantress: There are illusions out there — mirages, to some — but I can see them for what they are: the Coven’s foul magic. They will lead you to your death.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I understand. But my death does not lie here...

• Follower
  • Templar: She looks...different than anyone we have seen. Her skin is as soft and smooth as polished ivory, and her eyes...they...oh.

• Enchantress: Why are you two whispering over there?

• Follower
  • Templar: N-no reason!

• Wounded Villager: Stay back! They’re in the rocks!

• Enchantress: Be careful...They are very near to us.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Where?

• Follower
  • Templar: I’ve missed killing these cultist scum. Come on, then!

• Class
  • Necromancer: You knew that would happen.

• Enchantress: I am an enchantress; the way of magic and illusion are familiar to me. My name is Eirena.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Why have you come here?

• Enchantress: Well...I am also looking for someone. But, here, let me clear the way for you.

• Iron Wolf Guard: Captain! From behind!

• Captain: Protect the people! Iron Wolves!

• Iron Wolf Jarulf: If not for you, the lacuni would have eaten well this day...

• Class
  • Necromancer: Are there more of them ahead?

Iron Wolf Jarulf: Even worse. Cultists are casting spells in two of their desert lairs to obscure the Black Canyon Bridge.

• Enchantress: Let us head north to the Howling Plateau. The cultists’ magic seems to be emanating from there.

• Enchantress: There is another illusion here. The cultists tried to hide their footsteps, but their spells are weak and easily countered. If we follow these prints, we can find their lairs and halt the rituals. I will seek out any other traces of their magic.

• Enchantress: This is one of the cultists’ lairs. They are casting part of the illusion inside.

• Enchantress: This should remove part of the illusion.

• Alcarnus Refugee: I’d lost all hope...

• Prisoner: Thank you!

• Prisoner: Akarat bless you!

• Enchantress: Look! More hidden footprints...

• Enchantress: This is one of the cultists’ lairs. They are casting part of the illusion inside.

• Pain Monger: Flesh!

• Deranged Cultist: The ritual is being disrupted!

• Enchantress: There, that ought to dispel the Coven’s magic. Let us go to the bridge.

• Caldeum Commoner: They...they tortured my poor husband!

• Enchantress: We will avenge him!

• Prisoner: I owe you my life! Bless you!

• Enchantress: Tell me, what shall you do when Maghda is dead?

• Class
  • Necromancer: Kill the demon lord she serves.

• Enchantress: How curious...You must be the one I was meant to find here.

• Enchantress: I think it is time for you to know my true tale.

• Enchantress: I am not from Caldeum. I learned these spells fifteen hundred years ago. My sisters and I pledged our service to a man of great power. We called him The Prophet. He trained us and placed us in a magical slumber to awaken in this era. I am to prevent the Lords of Hell from invading.

• Class
  • Necromancer: The Prophet? I have not heard of this figure. But your aid is welcome.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Hidden Camp)

• Covetous Shen: You may notice that jewels you find enhance your already considerable abilities. I can combine similar gems to make a more powerful one. At the moment, I can only offer you a few basic pieces of jewelry. Now, if you bring me supplies, I will eventually be able to offer you exciting and exotic new designs. But it doesnt’ have to be just business with us, heh. Come by and talk anytime, my friend.

• Covetous Shen: I heard a rumor that there is a strange and mysterious jewelcrafting device hidden in the aqueducts of the Dahlgur Oasis. I have a mind to go search for it myself. Don’t worry, I won’t go alone. I’m sure I’ll find someone to show me around.

• Covetous Shen: Ugh, it’s even hotter than I remembered it. I’m afraid I’m growing weak. I need a drink, and a bath, and something to keep the sun off. Or maybe just a nice, cool jewel to put on my forehead. That will fix everything.

• Class
  • Necromancer: How long were you looking for me?

• Enchantress: Well, it was not very easy to find you! I had to search for days. Well, it was not very easy to find you! I had to search for days. When I woke up alone, I did not know what had happened. I wrote about it a little. You may read more if you wish.

• Myriam: An enchanting young woman who is much more than her youth suggests will come to your aid today. She can be of great help to you, so try to be polite, will you?

• Class
  • Necromancer: What will she help against?

• Myriam: Oh, it’s that coven again. They’re going to try and ambush you.

• Myriam: I was just talking to Haedrig. He is still denying his grief. He really needs to open up. If he would just let me comfort him it would do him a world of good.

• Kala: I have never been outside the city my entire life. I have never even been outside the palace. When they threw us out here, I thought I would die. I was terrified. But now...look at his view. I have never understood how large the world actually was. It is beautiful.

• Brother Ghaine the Healer: Death may be upon us all soon, but I shall do what I can to ease your pain.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I can’t imagine you’re happy to be in the city.

• Haedrig Eamon: I told myself I’d never come back here, and yet here I am.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Because of what happened to your father?

• Haedrig Eamon: Because of what happened to me. Some scars don’t heal, and there’s no point in scratching at them, is there? Weather doesn’t suit me either.

• Covetous Shen: I knew you would lead me to exciting and mysterious places! We should encounter the jewel I seek any day now!

• Class
  • Necromancer: What sort of jewel is this?

• Covetous Shen: Oh, it’s nothing special. It merely changes form to evade pursuers, and drives its owners mad.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Are you sure you haven’t already succeeded?

• Covetous Shen: Haha.

• Covetous Shen: The strangest thing just happened. A young man accused me of being the Xiansai god of thieves disguised as an elderly jeweler! Well, I understand his confusion, since I am as handsome as a god. I gave the fellow some advice and sent him on his way.

• Class
  • Necromancer: But you did not correct him.

• Covetous Shen: Who am I to crush the dreams of the young?

• Class
  • Necromancer: A man with honor.

• Covetous Shen: (laughs)

• Scoundrel: Tell me about this sisterhood of yours.

• Enchantress: We are the hand of the Prophet. The souls of the virtuous.

• Scoundrel: Oh, never mind.

• Enchantress: But I was not finished!

• Scoundrel: Really, it's not going to work.

• Myriam: You seem down today. Tell me what Myriam can do for you.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I am not down. I am resolved.

• Myriam: Well, you should resolve to enjoy life a bit more. So the demon lords want to crush all humanity beneath their heel, does that mean you can’t smile?

• Myriam: The cultists are making a great mess of things out in the desert. They deserve the painful death you will bring to them.

• Class
  • Necromancer: What else?

• Myriam: They are torturing and killing innocent villagers to lure you into their trap, but you’ll get the better of them, won’t you?

Townsfolk Dialogue (Caldeum Bazaar)

• Asheara: All of these people have fled from the cultists in Alcarnus. They are refugees far from their homes.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Why can’t they resettle within the city?

• Asheara: The Imperial Guard lets no one in. These people are sentenced to a slow death.

• Asheara: The Iron Wolves were mercenaries until we helped the Zakarum priests find the successor to the first Emperor Hakan. We became the emperor’s personal guard after that. But everything changed a few months ago when the first refugees began arriving. An Imperial guard was created to “protect” the citizens from the refugees while we were out in the desert, fighting the Coven and their demonspawn. Eventually they took over.

• Villager #1: Have you heard? Emperor Hakan threw his entire court out of the city! They’re trapped out here with the rest of us.

• Villager #2: There is some justice in this world after all.

• Villager #3: Justice? They’re a load of pompous fools, but even they don’t deserve what’s coming tonight.

• Villager #1: What happens tonight?

• Villager #3: They’re wearing jewels worth more than any of us see in a year, and they have to sleep sometime.

• Villager: You there! Child! What is that foul stench?

• Girl: It’s the sewer, sir. That hole goes right into it.

• Villager: I’m sure our emperor had his reasons for closing the gates, but how are we expected to sleep scant inches from tunnels packed with filth?

• Girl: A bit of advice, my lord? If I were you, I would sleep with my back against a wall.

• Villager: Life in the Borderlands was hard, but we had our dignity. We came here for help, and how do they treat us? Like animals!

• Guard:The inner city is closed, by order of his eminence, Emperor Hakan the second. For now, you must all remain here.

• Villager #1: Let us in! We are dying of hunger and thirst. Can’t you smell the stench of death?

• Villager #2: The emperor has forsaken us!

• Guard: Back! Or we will force you back.

• Villager #1: You Imperial Guard would let us die here. At least the Iron Wolves try to aid us!

• Guard: Mention them again, and I will leave your corpse for them to find.

• Villager #1: We’ve been out here for too long! You must let us in!

• Villager #3: Why does the emperor keep us out here in the filth?

• Tilnan the Collector: Why don’t you come see Tilnan’s new goods? You will not be disappointed, I assure you. Many of my pieces come straight from the emperor’s own collection! Very valuable! But Tilnan knows you can afford it.

• Villager: Alcarnus is being destroyed by the Coven! I’ve seen people skinned alive!

• Noblewoman: Many of my banished peers have fled for Lut Gholein. Not I! I shall wait for our emperor to come to his senses.

• Iron Wolf Swordsman: Very noble, my lady. So it has nothing to do with the last caravan leaving ten minutes ago?

• Noblewoman: What impudence! How dare you even speak to me!

• Iron Wolf Swordsman: Apologies, my lady. You’d best take up your concerns with the emperor.

Townsfolk Dialogue (Searing Sands Inn)

• Villager: My family...I lost my whole family out there.

• Alcarnus Refugee: Everything I had was in Alcarnus. I am ruined…

• Refugee: The last emperor wouldn’t have treated us like this. His death was convenient for the boy, wasn’t it?

• Sadeir the Innkeeper: If only the emperor and his guard had gone mad sooner. All these people being locked out of the city has really helped my trade.

• Noblewoman: All this pain and suffering! This is what happens when you let a child sit on the throne!

Quest Journal

• Part 1
  • Barbarian: The stench of corruption lies over everything, even the burning heat of the desert. Tyrael and Leah want to make our camp in secret, on a bluff high above Caldeum. I do not understand this secrecy. I wish only to find Maghda and her coven. Cain's death weighs heavily upon me, and revenge will lift it from my shoulders.
  • Crusader: Caldeum. I passed near here when I first came west, but did not stop, since I knew other Crusaders were investigating the city. Now we have a secret camp set up on the city's outskirts, and I can begin to hunt down Maghda. I must beware though, Belial holds sway in this city.
  • Demon Hunter: Tyrael believes that Belial is hiding within the great city of Caldeum. I sense something amiss as well, but nothing strong enough for me to hunt without aid. For now, Maghda is all the prey I need.
  • Monk: The gods have sent me east to Caldeum, a land I have not seen before. Belial, Lord of Lies, is somewhere in this desert; as I look around, I see that I must be so. It is Belial who I am here to kill, but I must first put an end to Maghda. Perhaps she will lead me to her master, but even should she not, she must die.
  • Necromancer: We Priests of Rathma tend to avoid cities, for the masses seldom take kindly to our presence. At least we have this camp outside of the walls where few will notice us. I do not believe it will take long to find Maghda — she is nothing if not obvious.
  • Wizard: It feels odd returning to my adopted home, even after such a short time away. When I left, I was certain that strange things were afoot in the city. Now that I know Belial, the Lord of Lies, is spreading his corruption and deceit here, it all makes sense. Tyrael and Leah want to make camp above the city. It is a cruel joke that with the wonders of Caldeum below me, I must sleep upon the hard earth in the unsheltered desert.

• Part 2
  • Barbarian: Caldeum is filled with refugees from the Borderlands, driven from their homes by Maghda and her coven. When I look into their eyes, I see the same fear I once saw in the eyes of my own people after the destruction of Arreat. The emperor does nothing. Even those who would help, like Asheara of the Iron Wolves, cannot come to their aid. I will do what I can.
  • Crusader: Refugees from Alcarnus fill the streets. Emperor Hakan does nothing and without his leadership, the Iron Wolves can only do so much. Once I find Maghda, I can turn my attention to saving this city.
  • Demon Hunter: There are refugees everywhere, driven from their homes by the Coven. I recognize the sense of loss and desperation in their faces. They have been abandoned by the emperor, and the Imperial Guard does nothing to help them. Those who would offer aid, like Asheara and the Iron Wolves, seem powerless. It falls to me to kill Maghda and bring an end to this crisis.
  • Monk: How can the emperor do nothing for his people? How can the Imperial Guard keep the refugees from the city and from aid? Is this the influence of Belial, or is this just a land where such injustice is tolerated?
  • Necromancer: Maghda has been causing trouble here for some time. Refugees fill the streets, desperate for aid, and the idle rich of Caldeum cannot be bothered to help them. They may be forced to think again before we reach the end of this.
  • Wizard: Matters here are worse than I imagined. Refugees fill the streets, and the emperor does nothing. Even the Iron Wolves cannot act. What has become of this place I called home? It was once the greatest city in the world. Now look at it. When Maghda is dead, I will return and set things right.

• Part 3
  • Barbarian: The cultists wait for me in the desert. Every moment brings me closer to Maghda and revenge. An odd enchantress, Eirena, has joined with me. Though I do not know what to make of her, I believe her magic may be of use in my search. It is clear she has many secrets, but they are not my concern. I hope that she will be a worthy ally in battle.
  • Crusader: I met an interesting lass named Eirena out in the desert, She wields great power, but is possessed of a strange naivete. In any case, she seems to know much about this desert, so we may be able to help one another.
  • Demon Hunter: It seems the Coven will do anything to keep me from Alcarnus and Maghda. I have met an enchantress, Eirena, along the road. She was able to locate and dispel a cultist trap that I could not see. I am grateful, to be sure, but I’m still not quite certain why she has chosen to aid me.
  • Monk: The gods have sent strange allies to aid me before, and Eirena is no different. She is an enchantress and has promised to help me undo the cultists’ magic that blocks my way to Alcarnus and Maghda.
  • Necromancer: An enchantress has decided to guide me through these deserts. There is something strange about her, though I cannot quite place it...
  • Wizard: My travels have led me to some unexpected encounters. Just this day I met an enchantress named Eirena on the road. She also hunts the Coven, but her reasons are known only to herself. There are a great many secrets about her, but I believe she will be useful, as her knowledge of enchantment appears to exceed even my own. Perhaps I can learn something from her.

• Part 4
  • Barbarian: The Coven casts illusions in the desert to keep me from the cultists' base. But illusions will only slow me. I will not be stopped. Their cowardice burns me, and I will show them no mercy.
  • Crusader: The coven seeks to keep me from Alcarnus with illusions. With Eirena's help, this tactic will not slow me down.
  • Demon Hunter: Eirena says that the Black Canyon Bridge has been concealed by the cultisis’ spells. Once we halt the rituals, their magic will fade and I can proceed on my journey to Alcarnus. We travel through a harsh and lonely land. It reminds me of the Dreadlands but for the sweltering heat. Sand and dust are everywhere in the scalding wind, but I will not let that keep me from my quarry.
  • Monk: The rituals obscuring the Black Canyon Bridge are being performed from the desert. Eirena told me that when they are disrupted, she will be able to open the path to Alcarnus. Maghda only delays the inevitable.
  • Necromancer: Eirena is surprisingly adept at recognizing the Coven’s magic, and she doesn’t seem overly bothered by my use of the dark arts. This partnership could prove useful for both of us.
  • Wizard: Eirena told me that the road to Alcarnus is blocked by illusions created by the Coven. Today she showed me an interesting spell with witch she was able to find the hidden tracks of the cultists. Her magic is quite impressive, even to me.

• Part 5
  • Barbarian: Eirena can now restore the Black Canyon Bridge so that I can cross it. I have slain many of the cultists, and yet their deaths feel empty to me. I know why, Maghda. Hers is the death I seek.
  • Crusader: Eirena can now dispel the illusion that was blocking Black Canyon Bridge. I am getting even closer to Maghda.
  • Demon Hunter: The cultists casting the illusion are dead, and the road to Alcarnus should be passable now. Maghda must realize that her time is coming to an end, for she has set many traps to slow my progress. Perhaps most telling is that whenever I defeat them, she does not appear and taunt me. She knows she is losing.
  • Monk: With the rituals disrupted, Eirena can dispel the illusion at the Black Canyon Bridge. I am eager to move on. Every moment I am delayed, Belial is given more time to hatch his plots and strengthen his grip over this land. Time I cannot afford to lose.
• Wizard: Now that we have destroyed the cultists' rituals that were maintaining it, Eirena will be able to dispel the illusion at the Black Canyon Bridge. Her help has been invaluable, and though I do not know her plans for the future, I hope that she might join me. She certainly would be a welcome addition to our company.