A Howl in the Dark is a Forsaken Dominion side quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen that sends you after a blackdog prowling the Norgan Snowfield. The beast stole a pendant from Morgus, a Vermundian commission soldier, and the only way to get it back is to hunt the creature down at night and kill it. The catch is the dark aura it wears, which makes it immune to everything you throw at it until you break that shield.
Quick answer: Carry the spirit compass into the Norgan Snowfield after dark, fight the blackdog at the Obelisk of Benediction, use holy light to dispel its aura before attacking, then examine the carcass for the Fallen Pendant and deliver it to Morgus.
Blackdog combat reference
The blackdog is a beast-type enemy with a large health pool and a clear elemental weakness. It is weak to Holy and resistant to Fire.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Health | 150,000 |
| Monster type | Beast |
| Weak to | Holy |
| Resistant to | Fire |
The blackdog cannot be afflicted by most debilitations, so do not waste time trying to lock it down. It is immune to Blighted, Sleep, Caught Fire, Drenched, Tarred, Frostbite, Unconscious, and Silence.
Start the quest with Morgus
You need to finish Sticks and Stones first, after which Morgus will have the request ready for you. Morgus is a soldier in plate armour who stands by the tents and cooking fire inside the cave at Northwall Campground, where he also runs a small shop. The cave mouth sits on the North Valgrian Frostgrove side.
Speak with him and he explains that a large four-legged creature attacked him in the snowfield at night, shrugged off his blows, and ran off with a pendant he was wearing. He hands you some of the beast’s hairs so the spirit compass can pick up its trail. The quest banner reads “A Howl in the Dark” with the first objective, “Use the spirit compass to track the beast.”
Track the blackdog in the Norgan Snowfield at night
The blackdog only appears after dark, so head out at night and bring a lit lantern. The spirit compass is required here; some Norgan quests cannot progress without it. Follow where it leads.
You will find the blackdog at the Obelisk of Benediction, near the eastern edge of the charted snowfield, a little north of the long dark band that runs east to west. The ground there is a rocky basin ringed by tall snow-covered outcrops, and the beast prowls the basin below. As soon as it comes into view, the banner changes to “You encountered a blackdog,” then to “Defeat the blackdog.”
You mostly track the creature by its glow in the dark. It is a wolf-shaped beast far larger than a direwolf, dark-furred, wrapped in blue-violet flame, with small blue wisps drifting around it. Its health shows as a thin magenta line floating over the beast, with no name printed on it.
Break the aura and beat the blackdog
The fight starts with the blackdog’s aura up, and while it is active your attacks do nothing at all. You need a source of holy light in your party. Without it, the aura never drops and the beast cannot be hurt. A Mage pawn is the simplest way to supply that light.
When holy light lands, the aura breaks in a burst of pale gold light and your pawns announce that the shield is down. Only then does the health bar start to move. The aura comes back after a while, so expect to repeat the cycle several times before the bar empties.
The fight has a simple rhythm. Strip the aura with holy light, pour everything into the beast while it is exposed, then back off and survive while the shield is back up. Because it is weak to Holy and resists Fire, holy damage is worth the most once the aura is off, and fire is the weakest choice.
Watch its attacks throughout. The blackdog makes fast leaps across the whole basin, drops bolts of violet lightning onto a target, and releases bursts of blue-violet energy around itself when it lands or lunges, along with close bites and swipes. High ground does not keep you safe, since it can jump onto a tall outcrop and land on an archer standing there.
A ranged approach works well. Fire from a rock outcrop above the basin while your pawns engage below, keep the Mage pawn close to the beast so its holy light reaches it, and use “To me!” if the pawns scatter. Hold your Stamina and skills until the aura breaks, then unload. The blackdog dies in a large flash, and its carcass stays in the basin.
Heal from the item menu between windows rather than during an exposed phase, so you do not waste a chance to attack while the aura is down.
Loot the Fallen Pendant and other drops
Climb down to the carcass and use “Examine” to collect the loot. The pickups include the Fallen Pendant you need for the quest, Spectral Beast’s Fur, and Spoils: Lv 3, Ancient Greaves. Taking the pendant updates the log to “You reclaimed Morgus’s pendant from the blackdog,” then “Return the pendant to Morgus.”
| Drop | Use |
|---|---|
 Fallen Pendant | Quest item for Morgus |
 Spectral Beast’s Fur | Forging material |
 Spoils: Lv 3, Ancient Greaves | Appraise for leg armor |
 Norgan Ducat | Trade value |
 Tiger Eye | Material |
 Allheal Elixir | Curative |
The Fallen Pendant is taken from a blackdog after its cord has been torn away. Spectral Beast’s Fur comes from the beast’s shedding and serves as a material for forging gear, including the Nightshade Pelisse.
Return the pendant to Morgus
If you back out of the Deliver screen without handing the pendant over, the quest stays open. Talk to Morgus again to complete the delivery.
You know it worked when the screen reads “You returned the pendant to Morgus” with +55,000 XP and 30,000 G, followed by “Completed: A Howl in the Dark.”
The quest log also has wording for other tasks that can come up in this quest: “Make for Lorade Castletown with the commission.” and “Track down the commission soldiers.” If one of them appears, follow it before you deliver the pendant to Morgus.
