Sal Danek

Name: Sal Danek

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Bestows Quest(s): The Eastern Excavation

Receives Quest(s): The Abandoned Excavation

Affiliation(s): House Deneith

Location: Ruins of Threnal, Eastern excavation site

Ruins of Threnal

If you try to talk to him while at level 7 or lower, he will reply:

• Sal Danek: I've no work suitable for you at the moment. Sorry.

The Eastern Excavation

If you are at level 8 or higher, however, he will reply:

• Sal Danek: Ah, a fresh recruit. We appreciate you coming to House Deneith first. After the cave-in at the southern dig, our relationship with House Kundarak has been a bit rough.
• You: I heard you needed some work done.
• Sal Danek: I don't know what you've heard about the people that used to inhabit this city. Legends of their power were so grand that some scholars thought they never really existed. But here we are, and we've found the ruins of their dwellings—undeniable proof of the legends, if you ask me!
• You: I see, go on.
• Sal Danek: After our split with House Kundarak, we focused our efforts on the eastern excavation site. Our choice was no accident—we've found clues that point to the east as the location of the Great Library of Threnal.
• You: I wouldn't expect House Deneith to be interested in libraries.
• Sal Danek: I'm sure you've heard all kinds of shrewd remarks about us from those House Kundarak money-counters. Don't be so quick to judge us. Think about it—what can we gain by acquiring a few old trinkets from this excavation? We need information more than we need treasure. No one knows how Threnal became so powerful so quickly, nor how it fell to ruin. The Library of Threnal is probably the only way we'll discover what happened to these people. Perhaps it holds the keys to their power as well. House Deneith may rely on strength and martial prowess, but we're not ignorant.
• You: Have you found the Library yet?
• Sal Danek: We stumbled on a huge underground section of hallways that we think might lead to the library. Say what you want about the Kundarak dwarves, but we sorely miss their subterranean instincts! All the men we've sent into those halls have disappeared, returned wounded, or gotten lost for days and come back half-starved. We need a more experienced party to scout out these halls and pinpoint the location of the library.
• You: Let me have a shot at it.
• Sal Danek: You won't regret doing this for me. I'll arrange a reward that's well worth your time. The lift to the Eastern Excavation is behind me, to my left. (Bestow chain)

Talking to him after acquiring the quest, but before completion, will make him say:

• Sal Danek: Hmmm, no luck? Maybe the Library of Threnal is just a legend after all.

Talking to him after finding the library will make him say:

• Sal Danek: You found the Library of Threnal? Incredible! We hoped we were on the right track, but I was beginning to doubt....
• You: The library was the lair of a fire reaver, Basthuul. I believe he has been driven off.
• Sal Danek: Excellent. Now I must ask you to escort a team of Deneith explorers to the library so that we can secure it against further attack. You must protect Coyle especially well—he's our team's magic-user. Once he sets up a beacon in the library, we'll be able to teleport men and supplies into the site without risk.
• You: Very well. I'll report back when Coyle and his team have arrived safely. (Advance chain)

Talking to him after advancing the quest, but before completion, will make him say:

• Sal Danek: Be careful while you're down there.

After you guide Coyle to the library, he will give you a last mission:

• Sal Danek: You're back! I just received a distress message from Coyle. I need you to go back.
• You: Again? I thought we'd driven away Basthuul for good that time....
• Sal Danek: Fire reavers are terrible foes with many tricks—far easier to drive away than kill outright! From Coyle's report, I think this Basthuul must be summoning all his allies for a last-ditch assault. You must hold off the hostiles until I can send enough reinforcements to ensure Coyle's safety. Remember to protect Coyle—if that beacon fails, we won't be able to send in the reinforcements, and Basthuul will surely triumph.
• You: Consider the job done. (Advance chain)

Talking to him after advancing the quest, but before completion, will make him say:

• Sal Danek: Please assist my men in the library without delay. If we lose Coyle, we'll never get enough men inside to hold off Basthuul.

After you protect Coyle for the whole 15 minutes, he will congratulate you:

• Sal Danek: You are a true professional. That went more smoothly than I had expected. With our reinforcements in place, we should be able to hold the library against the last of Basthuul's minions for as long as necessary.
• You: You must not have had very high expectations—that was nearly a massacre! But thank you for the compliment.

After you finish the Eastern Excavation arc, he will tell you the following:

• Sal Danek: Good work helping us take control of the eastern excavation. Not that we've got it entirely under wraps, but we'd have been driven out without your help.
• You: Is there more to do here?
• Sal Danek: We're going to have our hands full sorting through and cataloguing the tomes in the library. If you need more work, Jan Falner—the foreman hired by House Kundarak—isn't that bad of a guy. For a con-grubbing money counter, anyway.

The Abandoned Excavation

After you finish the Eastern Excavation and Western Excavation arc, he will tell you the following:

• Sal Danek: Good work helping us take control of the eastern excavation. Not that we've got it entirely under wraps, but we'd have been driven out without your help.
• You: Is there more to do here?
• Sal Danek: Something has gone very wrong in the abandoned excavation, <name>. I don't know why, but Coyle has taken it upon himself to start exploring outside the Library of Threnal—despite the fact that we've barely been able to hold that position! Coyle and his team are headed into the most dangerous part of the ruins, and none of the explanations I've heard add up to sense. You've got to catch up with Coyle and bring that fool back to safer ground!
• You: How can I find Coyle? These ruins are huge—he could be anywhere.
• Sal Danek: There's one person who might be able to help you. Zaveera Halfspear was a freelancer in the original expedition, and she was the sole survivor of the runnel collapse that created so much bad blood between Deneith and Kundarak. Nobody knows the ruins better, and she might be able to guess where Coyle is headed. Go and talk to her.
• You: Very well. I'll speak with Zaveera right away. (Bestow chain)

After acquiring the chain, if you talk to him again, he will say:

• Sal Danek: Good work helping us take control of the eastern excavation. Not that we've got it entirely under wraps, but we'd have been driven out without your help.
• You: Is there more to do here?
• Sal Danek: I don't know the ruins outside the Library of Threnal well enough to help you track down Coyle. You should keep working with Zaveera until you've solved this mystery....

After you complete the Abandoned Excavation arc, he will congratulate you:

• Sal Danek: Zaveera told me about your adventures—Coyle's betrayal, the assault on the giants, all of it! Your battles in this place have been the stuff of legend. Who knows what kind of tragedy would've occurred if Cult of the Dragon Below had opened a gate to Xoriat? Or if the giants had somehow wielded that power against us? You are truly a friend to House Deneith.
• You: It was a close call. Fortunately for all of us, we emerged victorious.

After completing the chain and taking the reward, if you talk to him again, he will reply:

• Sal Danek: Good work helping us take control of the eastern excavation. Not that we've got it entirely under wraps, but we'd have been driven out without your help.
• You: Is there more to do here?
• Sal Danek: Now that you've unmasked the traitor in our ranks and defeated the giants, all in one swoop, I think we can handle the clean-up! Thank you for everything you've done here. Don't like to think what might have happened if that gate had opened up under our feet....