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One of the townspeople heard of my deeds for the people of Stormwind, and had one of her own. Madame Eva as she was called, said she had a nightmare about her granddaughter, and heard the name “Stalvan” clearly. She thought I might be able to find out more information on this character. Little did I know, that this character would take me on a quest traveling throughout the countryside.
The town Clerk was surprised to see that there was in fact a man named Stalvan Mistmantle. He used to teach at the Moonbrook Schoolhouse in Westfall. I was quite familiar with the area. I took a Gryphon to Westfall where I was greeted warmly by Gryan Stoutmantle. Stoutmantle enthusiastically told me that he told my story to all the townspeople, and that the Defias have all but been eraticated from the area.
I rode south to the Schoolhouse and found a chest covered in dust. Prying it open, I found a letter covered in dust. Just as I lifted it off the table, I was shocked to see a spirit manifest itself right in front of me. The spirit of a woman lunged toward me, knocking me off my feet, then disappeared into thin air. I felt a strange sense of utter weakness, as I stood up. Whatever this letter was, someone didn’t want me to deliver it.
When I returned, the Clerk had some new information. Apparently Stalvan had spent some time at the Lions Pride Inn, in Goldshire. Once again I set off to gather more information.
The Innkeeper at Goldshire was not quite as welcoming. He vaguely remembered my efforts long ago. Nevertheless, he did remember a man named Stalvan. Long ago, Stalvan stayed at the inn. He was a messanger, and on a stormy night he ran out of the inn screaming. Upstairs, the letters Stalvan had with him were held in a chest. I went upstairs to take a look, and sure enough found more letters in an old chest. Behind me that spirit manifested again. She attacked and vanished just as before.
One note was intended for the Canal District in Stormwind. I headed north to the kingdom to try and figure out more about this mysterious man. In the Canal District, the guard said that I may have some luck digging through some old possessions which were going up for auction. I opened up a crate to reveal a torn journal page among some other posessions. Once again the ghost appeared out of nowhere. The guard thwarted her off, but I was still affected with her weakening curse.
Tracing the posessions, I found myself at the Eastville Logging Camp. Here I was met by Marshal Haggard. He recognized the writing on the page, and asked me to go upstairs to retrieve the other half. Walking up the stairs, I felt that same presence. What was her purpose in all this? I grabbed the journal page from an old locker, and once again was greeted by the dark specter. Before I could confront her, she vanished yet again.
Haggard told me to return to Darkshire to speak with the Tavernkeep. They were great friends long ago. I returned to Darkshire and handed Smitts the remains of the journal. To my surprise he did recognize the elegant script. An avid loremaster, he followed the legend of Stalvan for years. He investigated a bloody massacre of nobles years ago, and suspected Stalvan was responsible, though he never got enough evidence to prove it. Thanks to my detective work, there was now enough evidence to confront Stalvan on what he’d done.
Madame Eva as she was called, said she had a nightmare about her granddaughter, and heard the name “Stalvan” clearly.
I was then sent to Commander Ebonlocke. Initially, the Commander was not interested in delving in the activities of the past, let me tell him what I’d found. He was not surprised to learn about Stalvans’ deed. He told me to revisit the Clerk to further see if this handwriting matched the registry.
Sure enough, it was a perfect match. Stalvan was surely responsible for this among countless other crimes. He now resides north of Darkshire. It was now time for me to face the man. I headed to the north, to a small cottage. There I saw the old, withered shell of a killer. He slowly walked outside and said in a low, raspy voice, “So, you’ve finally figured it out.. I know what you came here to do. The bloodshed pales in comarison to the tears I’ve shed!” He ran towards me with two old swords high in the air. I wasn’t expecting such an old man to attack in this way. Despite his efforts I defeated Stalvan once and for all.
I returned to Eva with her family ring. She already knew of Stalvan’s demise, and thanked me for my persistence. As it turns out, Stalvan was a teacher at Moonbrook, and developed a relationship with Eva’s granddaughter. When her granddaughter played off the relationship as a simple friendship, Stalvan killed her and her entire family, and carefully hid the bodies. I didn’t say anything but I knew at once that the spirit that haunted me was that of her young, vengeful granddaughter.
