Note: The Black Soulstone quest doesn’t start at the Hidden Camp like other quests in Act II. This quest commences when you have collected both Blood of Zoltun Kull — completing the quest: Blood and Sand.
Use the Town Portal at the Vault of the Assassin. Then use the Waypoint at the Hidden Camp to teleport to the Desolate Sands (if you unlocked it earlier).
YOUTUBE VIDEO
OBJECTIVES
- Search for the Archives of Zoltun Kulle at the northern end of the Desolate Sands
I doubt that Kulle’s archives will be much more appealing than anything else I have seen thus far. This will be my chance to see how deeply disturbed he actually is underneath that sneer.
LOCATION: DESOLATE SANDS
Note: Take the Waypoint to Desolate Sands.
Note: Head west and go through the bridge to enter the Archives.
Zoltun Kulle: My archives are at the northern tip of the Desolate Sands. There we will find my body and the Black Soulstone. Here is the entrance to my archives. Let me activate the portal.
Note: Enter the Archives of Zoltun Kulle.
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Go to the Terminus in the Archives of Zoltun Kulle
LOCATION: ARCHIVES OF ZOLTUN KULLE
Zoltun Kulle: I had to build all of this for my research and my experiments. The Black Soulstone was a complicated creation. I sacrificed much to make it.
Note: As you walk past the Archives of Zoltune Kulle Waypoint, Leah teleports in.
Leah: Looks like I got here just in time. Emperor Hakan? What are you doing here?
Emperor Hakan II: Good, everyone’s together. I came to tell you that I have found Belial, and I’m ready to lead you to him.
Necromancer: Really?
Zoltun Kulle: All well and good, but first I will be made whole.
Leah: We’re ready to do our part. Just you remember yours.
| BELIAL’S IDENTITY | ||
 | Necromancer | You said you know where he is. |
 | Emperor Hakan II | Yes, but we must be very careful. He has noticed your actions, and he grows nervous. You focus on the soulstone. We can confront Belial afterward. |
Zoltun Kulle: Beyond these portals lie two relics that were once powered by my blood. Take the vials you recovered and use htem to activate the relics.
Leah: I will stay here and prepare the ritual. Be careful!
| THE ARCHIVES | ||
 | Leah | Even after everything we’ve come to know about Zoltun Kulle, I never imagined anything like this. Maybe Adria is right about the Black Soulstone. |
 | Zoltun Kulle | You doubted me? How disappointing. |
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
Open the Shadow Locks in the Unknown Depths and the Storm Halls.
- Unknown Depths Shadow Lock opened
- Storm Halls Shadow Lock opened
The further we go, the more I’m convinced that this is a dangerous plan. Leah is uneasy as well. Should anything go wrong, I will be ready.
Note: Enter The Unknown Depths.
LOCATION: THE UNKNOWN DEPTHS
Zoltun Kulle: Angels are no better than demons. Did you know that they once voted on whether or not to eliminate all of mankind? Only one vote saved us from extinction.
Necromancer: Tyrael…
Zoltun Kulle: Yes. Whatever else he may be, he is the Aspect of Justice… and there is no justice in murder.
Note: Explore The Unknown Depths until you find the Shadow Lock — which is this giant orb in a circle.
Zoltun Kulle: I could have helped all men become nephalem and ushered in a golden age! But my Horadric brothers could not accept man’s true destiny.
Note: Don’t forget to pick the Hunter’s Journal.
| HUNTER’S JOURNAL, PART 5 |
| We will seal the shadow locks with vials of his blood, and we will hide the blood in the desert under eternal guard. I can only hope that the world does not forget of Kulle’s evil, and his blood remains undisturbed beneath the shifting sands. – Ibed Fahd |
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Note: Activate the Shadow Lock.
Note: Go to all the remaining 3 wings to search for the portal back to the Terminus.
LOCATION: THE TERMINUS
Note: At the Terminus, go through the bridge to the portal that takes you to The Storm Halls.
LOCATION: THE STORM HALLS
Zoltun Kulle: We all agree that the end times are upon us, but do you truly believe that Belial and Azmodan could have engineered these events?
Necromancer: For now, they are the greatest threat.
Note: Pick the Hunter’s Journal near the Shadow Lock.
| HUNTER’S JOURNAL, PART 4 |
| Try as we might, Kulle simply cannot be killed. His cursed blood sustains him. He bleeds sand, and his laughter mocks us. There is only one course of action left to us. We will separate his body and his head, and hide the body within the shadow realm. – Iben Fahd |
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Note: Search the 3 wings around the Shadow Lock to find the portal back to The Terminus.
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Enter the Realm of Shadow through the Terminus
Kulle’s behavior is increasingly strange. If he doesn’t contain himself soon, I may be forced to use his wretched body for skeleton parts once I retrieve it from the Realm of Shadow.
LOCATION: THE TERMINUS
Templar: This must be the shadow portal. Let us be done with this.
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Find Zoltun Kulle’s Body in the Realm of Shadow from the Terminus (0/1)
LOCATION: REALM OF SHADOW
Zoltun Kulle: The Horadrim did all this to lock my body away. They must have been very angry with me.
Necromancer: If they could not kill you, what else could they do?
Zoltun Kulle: They were never very imaginative.
Note: Search for Zoltun Kulle’s Body and loot it.
Zoltun Kulle: You do not trust me. I understand. But we are more alike than you know. We have both tasted what it is to be nephalem. Join with me, and we can become the masters of this world.
Necromancer: You have misjudged me. Do not do it again.
Note: Pick the Hunter’s Journal from the ground.
| HUNTER’S JOURNAL, PART 6 |
| Kulle mocks my every step. I try to shut him out, but his chattering is ceaseless. He takes joy in taunting me. I will not rise to the bait. I will not give in to him. I long for the silence that will come once I secure his head away. – Iben Fahd |
 |
LOCATION: THE TERMINUS
Necromancer: I have the body.
Leah: Then let me begin the ritual… but I’m warning you, Kulle, you’d better not cross us!
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Talk to Leah in the Terminus
I begin to see what has gone awry in Kulle’s mind. He can see that the angels and demons are two sides of the same battle — opposites in every way, but an equal threat to humanity. But he has no sense of the Balance, or his place in it.
CUTSCENE
Zoltun Kulle: You are surrounded by deceit, young one. I am the least of your concerns.
Zoltun Kulle: Concentrate, Leah!
Zoltun Kulle: Soon now. Just a bit longer. Just a moment… Almost… Yes! My blood… thunders within me! This fetid air fills my ravaged lungs… I am alive again!
Leah: You’re welcome.
Necromancer: And the soulstone?
Zoltun Kulle: Very well. The bargain stands. Quickly, to my sanctum!
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Enter the Soulstone Chamber through the Terminus
Kulle’s body was never meant to be reformed. I do not know what spells Adria taught Leah, but her magic is foreign to me. Kulle himself has become bolder, as though he can no longer disguise his ambitions. For all his brilliance, he suffers from an overabundance of ambition.
Note: Click the Soulstone Chamber portal.
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Talk to Zoltun Kulle
CUTSCENE
Zoltun Kulle: At long last, I can complete my life’s work. All will tremble at my power!
Zoltun Kulle: What is this?
Zoltun Kulle: How has this happened? The souls of the dead Lords of Hell have been absorbed into the stone! Abandon your quest, nephalem. Your allies seek only to control you. With the power I offer, you and I could rule over all creation.
LOCATION: SOULSTONE CHAMBER
Necromancer: No. Give me the stone, or face me as your enemy.
Note: Kill Zoltun Kulle at max level in less than 30 seconds in Torment difficulty to get the Achievement: How Imaginative.
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Get the Black Soulstone in the Soulstone Chamber through the portal from the Terminus
Kulle’s betrayal was inevitable, but Adria’s manipulation of the Black Soulstone came as a surprise for all of us. She’d better not be keeping other secrets.
Zoltun drops a journal.
| KULLE’S JOURNAL, PART 4 |
| The wards have been triggered. It seems my brothers have finally come looking for me. Damn them! I am not ready. Too much of my power is invested in the stone’s creation. I must finish it. The future of mankind depends on it… – Zoltun Kulle |
 |
Note: Before leaving the chamber, move to the center through the sandy bridge so that your hero is beneath the Black Soulstone. A cutscene is triggered. Adria takes the Black Soulstone.
CUTSCENE
Necromancer: Is it true, then? The slain Lords of Hell are within this stone?
Adria: Twenty years ago, during the Darkening of Tristram, Cain told me of Zoltun Kulle’s profane soulstone.
Leah: That’s why you left me… You went to mark the demons’ souls, so that they could be drawn into Kulle’s vessel!
Adria: Yes, my daughter. I have sacrificed everything for this…
OBJECTIVES UPDATE
- Talk to Adria in the Hidden Camp
LOCATION: HIDDEN CAMP
Note: Use the town portal to leave the Soulstone Chamber and return to the Hidden Camp.
Necromancer: This soulstone is a weak vessel. It may not be able to contain Belial and Azmodan as well as the others.
Adria: Then I will shatter it, and the Lords of Hell… will be no more.
NEXT QUEST: THE SCOURING OF CALDEUM
TOWNSFOLK DIALOGUES: HIDDEN CAMP
| MAGIC | ||
| Necromancer | Your daughter’s skill at magic has far surpassed your own. |
 | Adria | The power was always within her. Now she’s learning to control it. |
| Necromancer | Was she born with it? |
| Adria | I do not know where her power comes from. I spent a lifetime studying the ways of magic. It did not come so easily to me. |
| ABOUT ADRIA | ||
| Leah | I’m not sure what I expected it would be like to have my mother back… but it wasn’t this. She’s different than what I imagined… I can see the toll her mission has exacted from her, just as it had with my uncle. |
| GOING TO TRISTRAM | ||
| Necromancer | Why did you settle in Tristram? |
 | Haedrig Eamon | You know, I’ve asked myself that. It was Mira’s idea. I wonder if she saw something and knew that I needed to be there to help you. Did she know what was going to happen all along? |
| Necromancer | A worthy question, but it changes nothing. Her journey has ended, and yours continues. |
| Haedrig Eamon | You may be right. I’ve work to do. |
| ZOLTUN KULLE’S TREACHERY | ||
 | Myriam | I don’t like what Zoltun Kulle is going to do to you. I told you he couldn’t be trusted. |
| Necromancer | Why won’t you tell me what happens? |
| Myriam | I changed the future to save someone once. I ended up causing the deaths of three others. I’ve told you all I can — I promise you. |
| CHANGING THE FUTURE | ||
| Necromancer | Have you ever tried to change the future? |
| Myriam | There was a girl who had been toying with dark magic. When I saw demon possession in her future, she begged for my help. Since she was already tainted, simply stopping her dabbling with magic would not be enough. So I crafted her a protective charm. Unfortunately, the demon was already loosed from Hell. When it couldn’t possess her, it spitefully chose her father. The possessed father killed the girl’s mother and sister. When the demon showed the man what he had done, he took his own life. Last I heard, the girl had been committed to an asylum. Such sadness. |
| ANCIENT SECRETS | ||
 | Enchantress | I have thought more on what I am missing. |
| Necromancer | Oh? |
| Enchantress | Our progress seems to clarify things for me… It is difficult to explain. |
| Necromancer | The magic will take time to dissipate. |
| Enchantress | Yes. The spell that sent me to this time was bound to the Prophet. Now he is missing, and some parts of me are missing as well — lost to the ages. |
| Necromancer | You could try to conjure them back. |
| Enchantress | Yes, but it will take a while. My skill is not so great as the Prophet’s was. |
| THE JEWEL’S PRICE | ||
 | Covetous Shen | I think I was wrong about the jewel I seek. It is not in this land either. What a pity. |
| Necromancer | Why not take a rest from your search? |
| Covetous Shen | Because… it has killed thousands, and because I am the only one who can hold it without harm. |
| Necromancer | Because you are not who you seem… |
| Covetous Shen | No. Because it has already taken everything from me that matters. But enough of that! I have gone too long without spiced beef and spicier wine! |
Note: These dialogues are unlocked after completing The Black Soulstone quest.
| THE BLACK SOULSTONE | ||
| Covetous Shen | Do you think I could take a close look at that Black Soulstone? It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. |
| Necromancer | It is no mere ornament. |
| Covetous Shen | You think too little of me. The object of my search is as dangerous as anything. My expertise may be of some use to you. I am, afterl all, quite well versed in the knowledge of jewels and stones. |
| ADRIA’S QUEST | ||
| Adria | While I was in Tristram, Deckard Cain told me of a black soulstone crafted by a renegade Horadrim. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but later I realized its true significance. I knew the essences of the five slain Lords of Hell still existed in our world, so I spent the last twenty years locating and preparing them to be drawn into the stone when it was finished. |
| Necromancer | Finished? |
| Adria | Kulle was interrupted during his first attempt. Now that the soulstone is finally complete, the Lords of Hell have been trapped within it. |
| THE PRICE OF VICTORY | ||
| Adria | Know this: I have given everything, even my own blood — my own daughter — so that I could hunt Belial and Azmodan. Do not question my dedication. I have given more than any, and I will give more before the end comes. |
| ENSNARING BELIAL | ||
| Adria | Controlling the Black Soulstone will be perilous. |
| Necromancer | This was your plan. You can handle it, can’t you? |
| Adria | It won’t be me who will use it. Only Leah, under my guidance, can wield it. Her power is far greater than mine, and it will ensure our success. |
TOWNSFOLK DIALOGUES: CALDEUM BAZAAR
| Villager: I don’t know why everyone is so happy around here. The emperor still has us under his boot. |
| Villager 2: But we have food and water, and no one will kill you in your sleep. Even you must admit it is better now. |
| Villager: I admit nothing. As long as that little tyrant is running things, this place is doomed. |
 |
| Villager: I was so accustomed to being lied to… |
| Villager 2: I know what you mean. I haven’t gotten into a fight in at least a day… maybe two. |
| Villager 3: It almost feels… normal around here. |
 |
| Noblewoman: When the emperor discovers that you’ve shut me out here with this rabble, you’ll be lucky if he only takes your head! |
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| A HARD TRUTH |
| Noblewoman: I must face facts. The emperor isn’t going to open the gates again, is he? The poor boy’s gone mad. |
| Iron Wolf Swordsman: It pains me so, my lady. I had great hopes for him. |
| Noblewoman: What should I do? I am trapped here. |
| Iron Wolf Swordsman: So am I, my lady. So am I. |
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| Villager: I heard that the emperor is being held captive by his own guards. Could it be true? |
 |
| Villager: No new refugees have come here for days now. Maybe things are getting better out there. |
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TOWNSFOLK DIALOGUES: SEARING SANDS INN
| Villager: Why can’t the people see that the tyranny is finally coming to an end? |
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| Alcarnus Refugee: I still can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. |
 |
| Refugee: The Imperial Guard have overplayed their hand. The forces of justice thwart them at every turn. |
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| Noblewoman: Sand and strife. I need to get away from it. Perhaps I’ll move to Tristram. I hear it’s peaceful and green there. |
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| Sadier the Innkeeper: Going to the Desolate Sands, eh? Now there’s a place filled with laughs. |
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| AN ABRIDGED HISTORY OF CALDEUM, PART 4 |
| After the Zakarum priests’ rituals were complete., they employed a group of reckless mercenaries, the Iron Wolves, to retrieve the child. They dubbed him Hakan II and installed him on the throne despite his scant years. Caldeum has been in decline ever since, and I can see no reprieve in sight. – Abd al-Hazir |
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