Karn Cold-Trail

Name: Karn Cold-Trail

Race: Dwarf

Gender: Male

Bestows Quest(s): The Twilight Forge

Affiliation(s): The Free Agents

Location: The Foothold

Description: Making use of any of the NPCs in The Foothold requires paying 1,000 pp to Karn Cold-Trail, but a good negotiation skill can reduce or eliminate this fee (you only need one of these options):

• Diplomacy 10+ reduces the fee to 500 pp (9 failed, 10 succeeded)
• Bluff 14+ reduces the fee to 200 pp (13 failed, 14 succeeded)
• Intimidate 19+ removes the fee entirely (17 failed, 19 succeeded)

You need to pay this fee only once per life.

The Foothold

When you first arrive at the place, he will reply:

• Karn Cold-Trail: The dwarf shifts uncomfortably in this ill-fitting suit of chain. Hazadill didn't tell me anything about a new <race> on my crew. Who are you, and what is your business in the Restless Isles?
  • You: (Intimidate) I'm the <race> who put Hazadill in his grave. I'm here to collect his belongings... like you.
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Karn Cold-Trail locks eyes with you. You're collecting nothing but trouble. Hazadill was a lunatic, even for a bugbear—always trying to prove he was tougher than every other thug in Stormreach. I'm not surprised that someone finally stuck a knife between his ribs. If you want to hire Karn Cold-Trail, you'll have to pay for his services—same as old Hazadill. Or you can stay out of our camp!
      • You: What did Hazadill pay for your services?
      • Karn Cold-Trail: Our deal with Hazadill was simple—we traded with the wildmen for artifacts, Hazadill sold those artifacts, and we got thirty percent of the take. But that was before the Runetusks showed up and ruined our deal with the wildmen. If you want more Twilight Forge stuff, you'll have to go there yourself—and you won't come back. Nobody ever does. So what Hazadill paid us is irrelevant. I'm not going to work for thirty percent of nothing!
        • You: I'll pay gold up front for the use of your camp, if you'll help me reach the Twilight Forge.
          • Karn Cold-Trail: Now you're speaking my language, <race>. For ten thousand gold pieces, Karn Cold-Trail and his crew will count you as friends. Take it or leave it.
            • You: Pay 10,000 gold to Karn Cold-Trail
              • Karn Cold-Trail: That's the shiny stuff! From now on, Karn and his companions are at your service. Let me know when you're ready to talk about the Twilight Forge.
            • You: I haven't got that kind of gold. Maybe later. (Walk away)
        • You: What do you take me for, a fool? I'll reach the Twilight Forge without your help. (Walk away)
  • You: (Diplomacy) I'm afraid Hazadill's smuggling days are over. I'm here to cut a new deal with his suppliers.
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Karn Cold-Trail frowns as he digests this news. So Hazadill finally got what was coming to him? call me suspicious, but I imagine you had something to do with his tragic demise. Do you expect to kill me, too, if I won't play along? Well, Karn Cold-Trail has his own plans. If you want to hire my crew, you'll have to pay for our services—same as Hazadill. Or you can stay out of my camp!
      • You: What did Hazadill pay for your services? (See above)
  • You: (Bluff) The Coin Lords know all about your operation. They've already arrested Hazadill! If you work for me, I'll get them off you back....
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Karn Cold-trail shakes his head. Who are you trying to fool? Of course the Coin Lords know we're out here! But I know for a fact that Hazadill paid his bribes on time, and the Coin Lords are scrupulous about fullfilling such bargains. So what you're saying just doesn't wash. If you want to hire my crew, you'll have to pay for our services—same as Hazadill. Or you can stay out of my camp!
      • You: What did Hazadill pay for your services? (See above)

After you come in agreement with his service's value, he will tell you:

• Karn Cold-Trail: So, you want to know about the Twilight Forge? The Twilight Forge is an ancient armory—a relic of the war between the giants and the Quori. Thousands upon thousands of years ago, the giants of Xen'drik were not brutish fools. They were haughty and majestic kings, tutored in magic by the dragons themselves! The dream-lords of Dal Quor fought them with weapons of unfathomable might. And many of those weapons were created in the Twilight Forge.
  • You: But that was ages ago. Hasn't the Twilight Forge already been looted of its treasures?
    • Karn Cold-Trail: That is an excellent question. The giants left few Quori ruins standing after the war. Those which remained were pilfered by a thousand generations of tomb-robbers. But the Quori left more than weapons behind in the Twilight Forge. They left the wildmen... or their ancestors, at any rate. The wildmen have kept outsiders away from the Twilight Forge, at least until now, and so it remains the last known source of old Quori technology in Xen'drik.
    • You: What are these wildmen? I've never heard of such creatures.
    • Karn Cold-Trail: As far as I know, the wildmen are found nowhere else on Eberron. They are strange beasts—clever and proud, impulsive and cruel. They have always lived in the Restless Isles, and the Twilight Forge is their holy place. Ostler Caulstone thinks they are the descendants of servants created by the Quori. Until recently, they kept the Twilight Forge secret from the rest of Eberron, mostly by slaughtering anyone who set foot near their sacred ground.
    • You: How did you start trading with such dangerous partners?
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Laina, Ostler and I were treasure-hunters from Stormreach. Ostler caught wind of a savage race with artifacts worth a king's ransom, and he used his powers of scholarship to deduce the Twilight Forge's location. As luck would have it, we arrived just as the old wildman chief was dying, and Laina d'Jorasco was able to ease his pain. Thus we escaped the usual fate of outsiders to the Isles. The wildmen agreed to trade trinkets from the Twilight Forge for Stormreach tools and goods, and our lucrative arrangement was born.
    • You: When did the Clan Runetusk ogres show up?
    • Karn Cold-Trail: We dealt in Twilight Forge artifacts for one glorious year of profit. Dozens of magical objects were sold to various buyers—including Hazadill the Bugbear, whose pockets were deep indeed. There's no telling how far those artifacts travelled. But they must have reached Clan Runetusk, a vicious cabal of ogre mages and thugs with a lust for arcane power. They divined where the Forge was hidden, and they were far too strong for the wildmen to repel. The ogres swept into the Restless Isles and enslaved the wildmen in a matter of days. Since then, we have huddled on this island, awaiting a change in our fortunes.
      • You: A fascinating tale. Now let's talk about how I can get into the Twilight Forge. (See below)
  • You: Spare me the history. I just want to know how to get inside the Twilight Forge.
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Karn Cold-Trail frowns thoughtfully. The wildmen enter and leave the Twilight Forge as they please—perhaps the Quori-crafted gatekeeper recognizes their ancestral origins. All others must bear a Sigil of Dal Quor as proof of their allegiance to the dream-lords. Fragments of these sigils are prized by the wildmen as holy relics, and several complete sigils must survive as well. Otherwise, how could the ogres have occupied the Twilight Forge?
    • You: So where can I find a Sigil of Dal Quor?
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Any whole sigils are probably in the possession of Clan Runetusk. You might be able to steal one from Ghola-Fan's Compound on the northern islands. It will be difficult to penetrate his defenses without inside help... perhaps you can bribe or threaten another Runetusk into supporting your cause.
    • You: Any other ideas?
    • Karn Cold-Trail: If you can't craft a complete sigil, maybe Ostler Caulstone can forge one from the broken fragments that the wildmen revere as relics. You might be able to find a few such shards in the Shrieking Mines of the southern islands. That's where most of the surviving wildmen have been herded, digging up resonant crystals for some unknown purpose.
    • You: I'll start hunting for sigil fragments.
    • Karn Cold-Trail: Good luck in your search. If you find any broken fragments, talk to Ostler Caulstone about forging the Sigil that you require.

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

• Karn Cold-Trail: I've told you everything I know about reaching the Twilight Forge. If you need help forging a Sigil of Dal Quor, you should speak with Ostler Caulstone—he is a magewright of no mean powers. Or did you want to discuss the history of the Restless Isles again?
• You: Let us discuss the lore of these islands. Some abstruse detail may prove the key to my survival. (Same dialogue as the previous section)

After you get the sigil, he will reply:

• Karn Cold-Trail: I see that you have acquired a Sigil of Dal Quor. I congratulate you on your fortune, but I must pass on a warning from Laina, whose intuition it is rarely safe to ignore.
• You: What was Laina's warning?
• Karn Cold-Trail: Last night, Laina had terrible dreams—she described gaping mouths without teeth, a tower wielding a sword, and a shattered skull crying tears of blood. She told me to repeat these words: 'The Twilight Forge is both a prison and a vault. Fear the jailers above and the treasure below!' I hope her words mean something to you, for they are nonsense to me.

On completion of raid, he will congratulate you with the following:

• Karn Cold-Trail: Karn looks amazed to see you. 'You're alive! When you set out for the Twilight Forge, none of us expected to see you again. In fact, we were about to pack up and return to Stormreach, lest the Runetusks decide to evict us from our meagre home. Were you able to recover any treasures of the ancient Quori? Speak up, speak up!'
• You: Tell Karn about the Mind Flayers and the discovery of the Warforged Titan.
• Karn Cold-Trail: 'By the Host! Who knew the ancient Quori were capable of building such monstrous war machines? Imagine the secrets their artificers must have possessed! Imagine what House Cannith would pay for such a specimen! Or the Lord of... ah, but I speak without thought. Please tell me you brought back something -- anything -- from the fallen Titan!'
• You: 'The Titan was completely destroyed. Would you see such a juggernaut unleashed upon Stormreach?'
• Karn Cold-Trail: 'I understand. The Treaty of Thronehold forbids the creation of new Warforged for good reason -- we forget the horrors of the Last War at our peril. And yet... the discovery of an ancient Creation Forge on Xen'drik! Even if every scrap of this Quori technology is lost, its mere existence is a priceless secret. Or, rather, a very expensive secret, and one for which I can imagine many bidders! I owe you something for your amazing story. Take this, and go with the blessings of Karn Cold-Trail and his crew.'
• You: 'Fare you well, Karn.'

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

• Karn Cold-Trail: 'You won a great victory when you kept the Mind Flayers from resurrecting the war technology of the Quori. I cannot help but regret the loss of profit -- the secrets of the Titan's creation would have made kings of you and I both. But what does profit matter, compared to keeping one's brains inside one's skull? Even a smuggler has to keep his priorities straight!'