Online:Arienne Kerbol

Arienne Kerbol is a Breton mayor of the Kerbol's Hollow. She also secretly leads a community of werewolves found there.
 

Related Quests


Quest-Related Events
After you have been given permission to enter the hidden village, you will overhear Arienne speak to the crowd of fellow villagers as you walk down the steps.
:Arienne Kerbol: "Rejoice! Soon we will have a new member of our family - Draven!"
:Arienne Kerbol: "Patience, friends. I will speak to each of you individually."
: 
:Arienne Kerbol: ''"I don't recognize you. Come, let us speak."

You can then speak with her and ask her about Draven.
:"Welcome to our humble village. Not many find us by accident, yet … I smell no illness upon you. May I ask what brings you here, if not the cure?"
:I'm looking for a man named Draven.
:"Ah, Renoit sent you then! He need not wait outside any longer—Draven will soon be inducted into the village. I'll see to it the guard lets him know. Is that all you seek, then?"
:Inducted into the village? What do you mean by that?
:"I apologize, but you are an outsider. It's impossible for you to fully understand, but … suffice to say that those who are cured must stay in the village. It is for our protection, and theirs. Draven is in the guest house, if you wish to see him."

Speaking to her again:
:"The guest house is adjacent to our village center. Draven's resting there before the final ceremony."''

The Ritual
After finding Draven and then investigating the village on Renoit's behalf, you will discover that everyone here is a werewolf. When you find Renoit he will say that Arienne took Draven away for some ritual to induct him into the village. As you approach the ritual site you will hear Arienne speaking with Draven.
:Arienne Kerbol: ''"There's no turning back now, Draven. You are a part of this village now."
:Arienne Kerbol: "Don't be alarmed. Soon the pain will subside."
: 
:Draven Leonciele: "No … stop! You're in my head!"
: 
:Arienne Kerbol: "Don't interrupt the ritual!"
: 
:Arienne Kerbol: "No! I've lost control!"
:Arienne Kerbol: "Draven! Come back!"

You can then speak with Arienne who is furious.
:"You! You've endangered us all with your meddling! Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"
:Draven's not sick. He's a werewolf, like Helene.
:"Yes. We all are, in fact. That's why he came to us. I can suppress the lycanthropic tendencies of the disease. The ritual you interrupted was to seal Draven's form. To protect him as well as the village. But now he's turned and we're all in danger."
:What happens now?
:"We must find him. The ritual might still work if we catch him in time to complete the binding. If not, then we must save the town, above all else."
:What can I do?
:"Go after him! I must tell everyone what's happened. Everyone who's left, that is. If he can't be subdued and forced to complete the ritual, he'll have to be killed. And that's on your head, not mine!"

Speaking to her again:
:"You've endangered the lives of everyone here. I hope you understand that."

After subduing Draven and telling Renoit the news, Arienne will come out of the hall to calm the panicking villagers.
:Arienne Kerbol: "Everyone, stay calm!"
:Arienne Kerbol: "We will soon have this back in hand. Keep faith, my friends."
:Arienne Kerbol: "Renoit, bring Draven to the town hall. Stranger, come with me."

When you speak with Arienne, she will tell you that the spell which subdues their werewolf forms is breaking and insists that Draven completes the ritual to stop it.
:"Some of the townsfolk have already turned back into their werewolf form. The spell is breaking faster than I thought. Draven must complete the ritual."
:Can he, even now?
:"Yes. He's not the first to fail, but it's very rare. Those who don't complete the ritual usually die immediately, by their own hand or someone else's. Nevertheless, it's better than the alternative."
:Maybe you should convince him to continue it.
:"He may not see me as an ally, thanks to your interference. He may only remember how much pain I caused."
:I subdued him on the hillside ….
:"This is your fault, so you must fix it. The others from the ritual site will bring him in. Let's hope he doesn't remember your fight. Talk to Draven, but take what he says with a grain of salt."''

After this conversation. Renoit and Draven arrive. Draven is trembling, and having some sort of lycanthropic fit. He's fighting to stay grounded and not give in to the bloodlust. You can speak to Arienne before confronting Draven.
:''"You can speak to him now. I'm not … feeling very well all of a sudden."''

After speaking with Draven and Renoit, you will have the choice of helping Arienne to complete the ritual or breaking the spell.

Completing the Ritual
If you told Draven you'll find a way to help him, you can speak to Kerbol after Renoit leaves.
:''"He speaks the truth. I've bound everyone here to this village, but by doing so, freed them from the curse of lycanthropy. They all chose it willingly. Think what you want of it, but each of our sacrifices is for the greater good."
:How does your cure actually work?
:"It's a very long story, but the short version is through magic. I bind the villagers, voluntarily, to each other in our original forms. Once bound, transformation into any alternative can't happen."
:So everyone here agreed to your conditions?
:"Yes. That's why we require a stay without their family before their acceptance. They must understand what it will be like without their loved ones. Can they cope? Can they live in this village forever? They must be sure, or we won't risk it."
:What happens when they leave?
:"No one's ever left. We're happy here. Safe. Once bound, even partially, if they leave the hollow, they'll break the entire bond and change form forever. Draven must see this. We will lose control, little by little, unless he completes the ritual."
:Then you're right. Draven must die.
:"I'm glad you understand our predicament. Don't hurt Renoit—he's already gone through so much already. Take him past the cave up the hill. With luck, Draven won't be far behind, and we can end this nightmare."''

If you told Renoit you'd help him break Arienne's hold over the village, you can return to the town hall and speak with Arienne. You can then decide to go along with her plan.
:''"Remember, Draven isn't quite himself yet, and in this state, he endangers the entire town. I know it sounds harsh, but only severing his link to the village will spare the rest of us."
:I've changed my mind. I want to help save the town.
:"Are you sure? You've seemed quite friendly with both Draven and his husband, and the only cure is a permanent separation between Draven and the rest of the village. Not that I mean to change your mind, but you must understand what this means."
:Yes. I'll help you.
:"Thank you. We've but one recourse left to us at this point. Draven must be removed."
:You mean killed?
:"The townsfolk … they don't know the cost of their freedom. No, it's better to do it away from town. Draven will revert to his werewolf form soon. We must lure him out of town. Renoit will be our bait. I pity the man, but it's our only recourse."
:Then I'll get Renoit.
:"I'm glad you understand our predicament. Don't hurt Renoit—he's already gone through so much already. Take him past the cave up the hill. With luck, Draven won't be far behind, and we can end this nightmare."''

If you told Draven you can't just let a werewolf run free, Arienne will give you only one grim option:
:''"The poor fool. He has already joined us in blood, if not in spirit. I guess there's nothing left to do, if his wish is to leave the ritual unfinished. He must be put down."
:You mean killed?
:"The spell which holds back the lycanthropy is weakening because of him. Unless he either finishes the rite or dies, we're all doomed to follow him. I can't let the people of this village suffer for the whims of one man."
:Why not kill him now?
:"The townsfolk … they don't know the cost of their freedom. No, it's better to do it away from town. Draven will revert to his werewolf form soon. We must lure him out of town. Renoit will be our bait. I pity the man, but it's our only recourse."
:Then I'll get Renoit.
:"I'm glad you understand our predicament. Don't hurt Renoit—he's already gone through so much already. Take him past the cave up the hill. With luck, Draven won't be far behind, and we can end this nightmare."

Speaking with her again:
:"If we must spill his blood to ensure the safety of the village, then that is what we shall do."

If you lure Renoit to the hilltop, Renoit will curse Arienne:
:Renoit Leonciele: "Draven? What's happened!"
:Renoit Leonciele: "You'll pay for this, Kerbol!"
:Arienne Kerbol: "Save our village! Strike down the beast!"''

Once you've killed Draven, she'll say:
:Arienne Kerbol: ''"I'm sorry, Renoit. Gods be with you."''

As Renoit runs off into the distance, she'll add:
:Arienne Kerbol: ''"He's gone. I can only hope he'll be all right."''

thumb|right|Arienne empowered
Speak to her and she'll say:
:''"Such a waste. I'd hoped Draven would listen to reason before it came to this."
:Was there really no other way?
:"If he'd remained alive, the spell over the whole town would have broken, leaving us all as he was—a mindless, slavering beast. I would not wish that fate on anyone."
:And the spell remains intact?
:"Yes. His death severed his connection with the town. I do hope Renoit makes it safely away, though I doubt anyone would believe his wild tales if he chose to speak about us. Another legend to hand down, I suppose."

Post-Quest:
:"Though you've certainly gone out of your way to help us, I ask that you keep your stay here brief. The townsfolk need time to recover from this ordeal."
:How often do people come here for help?
:"More often than you'd imagine. We heal those we can of other ailments, but of course, our main purpose is to bind those with lycanthropy to their normal form."
:You've found an unusual cure for it.
:"True. Some might say it's another curse rather than an actual cure. They might be right, but we live as peacefully as we can. We don't look for trouble. And we grieve whenever it finds us."''

Breaking the Spell
 On the other hand, if you decided to destroy the spell focus, both Arienne and Draven will revert to their werewolf forms and you will have to rescue Draven from her. She will howl to empower herself when combat begins, making up for her low health pool by becoming stronger.