Until He Started Screaming is a short story written by Carrie Patel and published by Obsidian Entertainment on November 20, 2015. It is the fourth in a series of short stories, written by members of the Pillars of Eternity developer team.
It can be downloaded in various e-book formats from Obsidian's website. Unlike the others in the series, it is the only short story that is not contain in the collected Pillars I omnibus, obtainable during the Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire backer campaign.
Summary
Story
Aloth Corfiser, is a student at Bragganhyl Academy, studying to become an arcane knight. He has a troubled past involving his alcoholic father and the Erl of Cythwood. Targun, a young Lord of Dafmund, has been making life difficult for Aloth by demanding favors and trying to uncover his secret trips off the academy grounds. After enduring Targun's demands for years, Aloth finally informs him that he will no longer provide notes, to the ire of Targun who threatens him. In the meantime, Aloth receives a letter from his mother's thayn, who he hoped would offer him a patronage, but learns that there are no arcane knight positions available. Distraught, he retreats to a secluded cottage in a corpsefruit grove, where his mysterious alter ego, Iselmyr, emerges, and taunts him as he considers his limited options for the future. They discuss the possibility that the Erl of Cythwood may have deterred other potential patrons from hiring Aloth, leaving him uncertain about his future.
Exhausting every possible avenue, he is desperate to find a patronage to escape his situation. Iselmyr, his awakened soul, suggests approaching the Spellwrights' Gilde, a small group of students who gather after classes. Aloth is hesitant, as they are associated with Targun, but he eventually decides to meet with them. Later that evening he finds the group stealing equipment from the laboratory. Iselmyr emerges, forcing Aloth to ask to join them, and promises them place to hide the stolen goods. He decides to join them, and the group agrees to meet at the cottage in the corpsefruit grove the next night.
Aloth's sleep is disrupted by thoughts of his alliance with the spellwrights and their animancy work. The next day, Aloth finds the spellwrights setting up a soul scale at the cottage, which they plan to use to measure a person's essence. However, Aloth soon realizes the danger of their machine, which could potentially discover Iselmyr (awakened souls are shunned in Aedyran society, the same way as criminals and madmen). Targun seems to be watching Aloth closely throughout the night. Aloth is conflicted about whether to continue with the Spellwrights dangerous and illegal animancy experiments or not, while Iselmyr argues that leaving the group would raise suspicion and threatens to expose them.
Three days later, Aloth and the spellrights reconvene at the hut to conduct the experiment. The group plan to test the soul-measuring machine on Aloth, but he convinces Targun to take his place as the first test subject instead. Secretly, Aloth sabotages the machine by loosening some bolts and crossing wires, hoping it would not work. To his surprise, however, the machine does function, and the spellwrights celebrate. However, Targun's body reacts negatively, and causes severe damage to Targun's soul essence, leaving him in a debilitated state. The other novices are initially oblivious to Targun's suffering, caught up in the excitement of the experiment's success. Aloth finally stops the machine, but Targun is left in a pitiable condition. The group argues about who is to blame, and debates what to do next. Esmey, one of the students, concludes that there's nothing they can do to help Targun. She instructs the other students to keep the incident a secret. They decide to leave Targun in a nearby village, where he will be taken care of.
Aloth is tormented by guilt for his actions and feels responsible for the incident. Iselmyr tries to console him, but he decides to take matters into his own hands and confess everything to Proctor Langulf, expecting consequences. Surprisingly, Langulf is not angry and instead offers him a deal. He asks Aloth to continue meeting with the spellwrights and report back to him on a monthly basis, intending to catch the people financing the illegal experiments. Despite the disaster, Langulf is not concerned with punishing Aloth, or putting a stop to the Spellwrights experiments, and only wants someone who can follow orders without question. In return for his cooperation, Langulf offers Aloth a patronage and the promise of more opportunities. Aloth catches a glimpse of a medallion embossed with a key around the Proctor's neck.