Caine

Caine, also called the "Tortured One," is the dead alchemist of Skara Brae in Ultima VII. He blames himself for the fire, despite him actually being a victim of the mayor's folly. This is essential for the quest, since he holds the answers to Life and Death.

Description
Caine was Skara Brae's alchemist, but when he tried to combine Mordra's mixture to destroy the liche, Horance, it exploded because the incompetent mayor gave him the wrong quantities, and Skara Brae burned to the ground in a firestorm. Torturing himself, Caine assumed it was his mistake, hence his nickname. A little over 20 years before Ultima VII, Batlin visited Caine and asked for the answers to Life and Death. When he made it clear that there were none, Batlin started his evil path.

In Ultima VII the Avatar needed Caine to get the answer for Alagner, to get his notebook. But Caine first demanded the city to be saved before he'd help. However, he denied after being asked to do the final sacrifice, saying that he had to stay to pay for his crime.

When everything was done, he revealed that there were no answers to life and death, remaining in the city to atone for his imagined crime. Hopefully, seeing Skara Brae returned to life has lessened his imagined pain.

Trivia

 * Caine's real world counterpart is Ultima VII foley artist, Marc Schaefgen. Schaefgen also appears in Ultima VII Part Two as the ill-fated trapper, Fitch.
 * Alagner also must have met Caine, since he knew the answer to Life and Death already.
 * The Avatar can't tell Caine what really had happened.