In Case of Death...

For undisclosed reasons, Gale recommends you resurrect him within two days.

In Case of Death... is a sub-quest of both  Gale's ⁠Companion quest and his ⁠Origin quest. It is triggered when Gale dies within the playthrough for the first time. A magical projection of Gale appears to warn the party that "many lives" depend on his return within two days. It would be in everyone's best interest to revive him sooner rather than later.

Warning: On the third Long Rest after Gale dies, there is a special Game Over.

Objectives (Companion Quest)

Follow the projection's instructions.

• "Gale died, activating a magical projection of himself which insisted that he be resurrected with the utmost urgency."
• "First, we need to retrieve the special pouch he carries on his person, and unthread the purple seam - moving counter-clockwise."
• "There should be a flute and a letter inside the pouch. We need to play the notes on the letter, starting from the bottom-right and moving clockwise."
• "Playing the flute correctly should summon a magma mephit. It will ask us a question, and we'll need to respond, K'ha'ssji'trach'ash."

Destroyed pouch: Resurrect Gale.

• "We inadvertently destroyed the strange pouch Gale carried, along with any means of resurrecting him it contained. We'll need to find another way to resurrect Gale."

Play the correct melody.

• "We opened the pouch correctly, and were able to retrieve the flute and letter. Now we need to play the correct tune on the flute."

Say the mephit's name.

• "We played the correct melody on the flute, summoning the magma mephit."

Resurrect Gale.

• "We told the magma mephit his name. In return, he turned the letter into a Scroll of True Resurrection. Using the scroll, we should be able to resurrect Gale in no time."

Quest Complete

• "We successfully resurrected Gale. Let's make sure he doesn't die again."

Objectives (Origin Quest)

Follow the projection's instructions.

• "I died, activating a carefully prepared projection of myself which conveyed with appropriate urgency the importance of my resurrection."
• "First, they need to retrieve the special pouch I carry on my person, and unthread the purple seam - moving counter-clockwise."
• "There should be a flute and a letter inside the pouch. They need to play the notes on the letter, starting from the bottom-right and moving clockwise."
• "Playing the flute correctly should summon a magma mephit. It will ask them a question, and they'll need to respond, K'ha'ssji'trach'ash."
• "My projection was cut short. My companions did not hear the rest of my instructions."

Destroyed pouch.

• "My carefully prepared pouch was destroyed. I trust my companions will find some other means to ensure my revivification."

Play the correct melody.

• "My companion opened the pouch correctly, and was able to retrieve the flute and letter. Now they need to play the correct tune on the flute."

Say the mephit's name.

• "My companion played a rousing melody on the flute, summoning the magma mephit."

Resurrect.

• "My companions told the magma mephit his name. In return, he turned the letter into a Scroll of True Resurrection. Using the scroll, I should be brought back to life in no time."

Quest Complete

• "I was resurrected, and the cataclysmic explosion of the orb was prevented. Hopefully it doesn't happen again."

Walkthrough

If  Gale dies for any reason for the first time in the game after he is recruited to the party, his corpse starts to release a ⁠Necrotic aura which damages all nearby creatures. A magical projection of Gale then appears and asks the party to resurrect him within three days. To do so a rather elaborate procedure for summoning up a  Scroll of True Resurrection has been prepared. This scroll resurrects any party member with all their hit points.

It is not necessary to obtain or use this scroll to resurrect Gale; any resurrection method (including  Scrolls of Revivify) satisfies the quest.

To get Gale's special scroll the following steps must be made:

1. Grabbing  Gale's Pouch off his corpse
2. Pulling the purple thread in a counter clockwise fashion
3. Taking the flute and play the notes D-E-A-D
4. Addressing the Magma Mephit with "K'ha'ssji'trach'ash" and hand over Gale's letter

The scroll can then be used to resurrect Gale or saved for use later on any  Dead companion. If saved, Gale must be revived some other way. Completing ⁠In Case of Death... with a  Sage background character grants the ⁠Reanimator inspiration.

The only way to botch the protocol completely is to pull all the threads in the second step and continue doing so after a warning; the pouch then disappears and Gale must be revived some other way. Other errors allow the party to try again.

Once Gale is back among the living, the party can make an ability check to ask Gale about what just happened:

• [PERCEPTION] I've seen the darkness inside of you, remember? I already know. (DC 10)
• [INSIGHT] You told me you trusted me. Here's your chance to prove it. (DC 8) (if trusted by Gale)
• [PERSUASION] I brought you back to life. A few answers is the least you can spare me. (DC 10)
• [INTIMIDATION] I will have answers or I will put you in the ground myself. (DC 12)
• [BERSERKER] [INTIMIDATION] Speak, or die. Again. (DC 12 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Tell me, or this'll be a very short-lived return. (DC 12 )

If the check is successfully passed, he answers one question, but nevertheless remains tight-lipped. Refusing to press him, before or after succeeding the check, grants approval:

• You know what? It's fine. You will tell me when you're ready.  +5
• Actually, never mind. If it makes you this uncomfortable, I won't insist.  +5

Reward

• Scroll of True Resurrection, if Gale's protocol is followed

Notes and references

• The first time Gale dies anywhere, the game tries to put the pouch in the closest party member's inventory, which then triggers the quest and can let Gale's ghost appear. However the pouch is a local item which only exists on the Wilderness map. So, if Gale dies on the Rosymorn Monastery Trail, in Crèche Y'llek, or anywhere in Act Two, he cannot get the pouch, his ghost does not appear and the quest is not triggered.
  • If Gale dies for the first time outside the Wilderness, is revived by other means and then dies again in the Wilderness, his ghost still appears if a party member gets in range; Gale's ghost then gives the party the quest, but not the pouch. This is because the game only tries to put the pouch in the interacting party member's inventory the first time he dies; and in this instance it already tried (and failed) to do this on the other map.
    • Conversely, if the party leave the Wilderness without Gale ever having died, and then return there for this quest-line, Gale can still be revived by any means, and this quest can be completed with him delivering his usual, "thanks for completeing the ritual to bring me back to life" dialogue; doing so still obtains the Scroll of True Resurrection.
  • After Gale's death, as long as his Netherese Orb has not been ⁠stabilized, the party can return to any other region of Act One to activate this quest.
  • If Gale dies for the first time only after his Netherese Orb has been stabilized this quest-line is closed and cannot be completed.
• If Gale first dies because he was sacrificed to  BOOOAL, this quest cannot be completed and if done before his Orb is stabilized, potentially softlocking the game as the party is then forced to complete the game within three Long Rests, lest Gale's Orb explode with no way of preventing it.