Start
There are a few people who send you on this quest:
- On the Waterfront: if you win a fight against the Ghoul in the Pursued Guard encounter, it unlocks the one-time Rescued Guard encounter. (Ties/losses allow you to try again, but letting him die locks out this route.)
- or: On The Quad: One-time Missing Student encounter.
- or: Join the Third Eye:
- Complete The Protest quest (various ways) to gain access to the VIP Room.
- Complete Joining The Third Eye quest (various ways) to gain Hawk as a contact.
- Ask Hawk "What should I do?", then "Where do we work?" then "What should I do?"
- Note: If you complete Waterfront Struggles by siding with The Family before asking Hawk about this, you will be unable to get the mission from him
Note: Only one of the above ways is required to start the quest, but if you start the quest with multiple people, you can later claim the rewards from those people. For maximal rewards, start the quest from all three before concluding it.
Outline
- Entering the Charnel House requires an air filter and you will be periodically kicked from the upper level of the charnel house if you do not have an air filter: see air filter for various sources (gas mask, etc.)
- Acquire 5-7? disturbing canvases:
- Choice Encounter: Grande Garbage Can Con Il Topo: Join the digging
- Noncombat Encounter: Stained Canvas
- (Sometimes, with garbage sticker equipped:) any Combat Encounter
- Use 5-7? disturbing canvases until you get the young man painting a portrait result.
- Continue adventuring in the Charnel House until you find The Artist.
- Gun him down to conclude the quest with the Pyro skill.
- Otherwise: Get his attention to unlock the lower potion of the charnel house. Find the Massive Scar encounter.
- Adventure Below The Charnel House (air filter no longer required):
- Find Calm Section to Explore Deeper
- (With Fae Sight) find Fairy Spring to accelerate progress?
- Find the Tall White Wall and pass one of several various stat checks (note there are various interactions with hidden flags here — you need to find the "lower section" to find it but various encounters to find)
- Find the Ghoul Source to talk to the Ghoul King:
- Cut the chatter: Defeat the Ghoul King: gain/equip the bone scepter: then kill any opponent while using an eating technique with the scepter equipped to gain the Ghoultouched skill.
- Offer a trade / I'll do it: Gain Born of Sorrow skill.
- (If you have a binding tome equipped:) Bind him: gain Kingly Favor skill.
Finish
The quest is completed when the artist is killed or freed. You can go around and collect your rewards:
- Student quest: Get the Found Student encounter (various rewards if you saved the artist), or Student Found Dead (if you killed him); affects subsequent Maxwell in Need quest rewards.
- Waterfront guard quest: Find the one-time No More Ghouls encounter: gain 400 credits, unlock Grateful Guard encounter.
- Hawk quest: Hawk gives you a personal focus.
Quest Progression
Upon successfully entering the warehouse:
Disgusting Warehouse
You can get past the stench now and take your first step into the warehouse. Its like a whole other world.Great rotten slabs of meat hang from the ceiling, explaining the stench, but there's a strange quality to the air. Almost like you're walking into someone else's dream.
Upon entering the gash:
Behind the scar is a set of stairs that seems to go down forever. You make your way into the depths.
When you finally reach the bottom, you find yourself in a place plucked straight from some feverish nightmare. Ghouls, many in packs, wander a sunless cave lit only by pits of fire.
Upon slaying the ghoul king:
The ghoul king's body hits the floor and shatters like glass. You hear a rumble from above and have a sinking suspicion of what comes next.
Giant slabs of stone begin falling from the ceiling, crushing scattering ghouls and plunging into lakes of fire. You run and run until you find yourself back on the streets near the Docks.
Behind you, the charnel house stands as though nothing had happened. Certainly it isn't plunging into a sink hole. Something does seem different, though, some dark presence has been erased.
Upon returning to the artist's friend, after saving him:
"Hey! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A young man comes running from across the quad.
Ah, looks like the same guy who asked you to look for his friend in the docks. "He's back! He says you saved him! He… won't talk about it much, but thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Here, this is what we gathered for the reward. It's all yours!" He hands you a PDA and a pile of cred chips.
Upon returning to the artist's friend, after killing him:
The same morose kid who was looking for his friend before walks up to you. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you… he's dead. They… uh, they found him in the docks… some body shot him… some monster."
Upon asking the ghoul king what was going on, having bound him:
You hear the king's voice echoing up from the depths of your mind. "He was our creator. His paintings brought his nightmares to life."
"We were those nightmares. He gave us our form and power." You feel the binding tug somehow, as though he's trying to resist you.
The tome of binding quivers in your hand. The king speaks again, sounding pained, "I lied… I lie… we came from the artist's mind, his dreams. But the Eclipse gave us life and form."
You feel a smoldering resentment as the king retreats back into the binding.
Quest Log
First paragraph:
(If you got the quest from the Rescued Guard)
You've heard that the security forces on the Docks are being hunted down.
(If you got the quest from the Missing Student encounter)
You've heard a local artist vanished on the Docks recently.
(If you got the quest from Hawk)
(missing)
(If you have gotten the quest from Hawk and the Rescued Guard encounter)
You've heard that the Third Eye can't expand into the Docks. Not even the security on the Docks are safe.
(If you have gotten the quest from Hawk and the Missing Student encounter)
You've heard that the Third Eye can't expand into the Docks and a local artist vanished there recently.
(If you have gotten the quest from the Rescued Guard and the Missing Student encounters)
You've heard that the security forces on the Docks are being hunted down and a local artist vanished there recently.
(If you have gotten the quest from all three possible sources)
You've heard that the Third Eye can't expand into the Docks. Not even the security on the Docks are safe and a local artist disappeared there recently.
Second Paragraph:
(If you have not talked to the Rescued Guard or been inside The Charnel House)
You're not sure exactly where the problems are coming from on the Docks. You might need to try someone closer to the scene.
(If you left the Pursued Guard to die and not been inside The Charnel House)
You're not sure exactly where to start, but after you ignored that thing tearing apart the guard, its bloody clawprints lead to the southernmost warehouse.
(After talking to the Rescued Guard but before entering The Charnel House)
The security guard mentioned the problems have been spreading from the furthest south of the warehouses along the Docks.
After entering the Charnel House
You seem to have found the place. The furthest south warehouse along the Docks. There's something seriously wrong going on there.
Third Paragaphi:
(If you have encounters Ghouls in Squatter's Refuge)
Whatever it is seems to have spread to the Squatter King's old hideout.
Ending Quest
A student on the Quad offered you a reward to find someone down by the Docks. Presumably you can collect on that now.
and/or
A security guard on the Docks sent you to that warehouse, too. Might be worth checking back in with him.
and/or
Hawk mentioned it too. He probably has something waiting for you to report back.
Or, if the security guard is the only one you haven't checked in with:
A security guard on the Docks asked you to look into that warehouse. Might be worth checking back in with him.
Or, if Hawk is the only one you haven't checked in with:
Hawk sent you to take a look at that warehouse. He probably has something waiting for you to report back.
Finished quest, after collecting your rewards
You took care of the ghoul problem on the Docks.
Or, if you killed the Artist:
You took care of the ghoul problem on the Docks by destroying its source: the deranged artist's head.
Notes
After the quest is done, you will stop encountering ghouls on the Waterfront and the Dockside Sewers, and the Charnel House and below the Charnel House will be unavailable.