The Hail Forge
Anywhere in the sky
From a tavern tip
A tip bought in a tavern for 20 silver.
“A smith past the Narrows quenches her iron in fresh hail and nothing else. Hail closes the pass nine days in ten—which is how you know her forge is lit.”
Possible rewards: Fire Bell
6 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Hail Narrows
Sail to The Hail Narrows (2–4 passages away)1 Fly through the Hail Narrows to reach the forge on the far side while the hail is falling.
The Narrows is a tight slot between two cliffs, and hail is pouring down it like gravel off a cart. Far inside, an orange forge fire glows through the white curtain. She is working.
- Fly the ship straight through.
- [Helm 2] Put crewmate at the wheel.Crew: Helm 2+crewmate hugs the sheltered cliff wall a yard-arm's length from the rock, where the hail falls thin.−1 hull+1 Helm skill XP
- [Ward Loom] Raise the wards and push through. (2 crystal)Room: Ward LoomCosts 2 crystalHailstones burst against the wards in white sparks the whole length of the pass. Not a stone touches the hull.
- Wait for a lull in the storm.The hail thins out, and the forge fire dies with it. She will relight it when the next hailstorm hits.
Hail-Iron
Right away2 Speak with the smith of the hail forge.
The smith is an Emberkin named Brand Ashgrove, bare-armed in the freezing draft. She pulls white-hot iron from the coals and thrusts it out the window into the hail until each piece rings like a bell. "Hail-iron never cracks. I can forge one thing for a visitor—one is all the storm gives me time for."
- Ask for keel straps to reinforce your hull.She eyes your keel through the hail and nods. "Six straps. That means someone has to stand at my window with the tongs—and it won't be me. I'm swinging the hammer."
- Ask for a new frame for your Ward Loom."A loom frame is fine work, and fine work goes slow." She starts hammering at once and does not look up again until the hail begins to thin.
- [Emberkin] Have crewmate tend her second forge fire.Crew: EmberkinWith crewmate stoking the second fire, she finishes two jobs before the hail stops: iron straps for your keel and a new frame for your Ward Loom. She hasn't had a helper who could stand the heat in years.+3 max hullUpgrade: Ward Loom
At the Window
Right away3Brand pulls the first strap white-hot from the coals and hands you the tongs. The window is an open hole in the stone wall with hail driving sideways through it. Each strap must be held out in the storm at arm's length until it stops ringing. There are six straps in all.
- Hold the tongs at the window yourself.
- [Ursine] Give crewmate the tongs.Crew: Ursinecrewmate holds each heavy strap out in the driving hail as if it weighed nothing, never flinching once. Brand even has time to forge a seventh strap for the bow stem. All seven ring true when struck.+5 max hullThe questline ends here.
- [Ice mage] Have crewmate pack the hail thicker at the window.Crew: Ice caster · Magecrewmate stands by the sill and funnels the driving hail into a dense white stream. Each strap quenches in half the time and rings a note higher. Brand grudgingly asks how the spell is done.−15 mana (the crewmate who acted)+4 max hull+1 Casting skill XPThe questline ends here.
The Bell Crate
Right away4Forging the frame takes her the rest of the storm. While it cools, she drags a straw-packed crate out from under her workbench. "Hail-iron bells for a port that ordered them a year ago. No hauler will fly the Narrows to pick them up. A loom frame is worth more than a visitor's share—deliver these bells down below and we're even, or pay me the difference in silver."
- Agree to deliver the crate of bells.The hail-iron frame she forged holds a ward-weave your old frame would have dropped. Her crate of bells goes into your hold, wedged tight with straw so they cannot ring in flight.Upgrade: Ward LoomNew job: Hail-iron bells
- Pay her the difference in coin. (30 silver)Costs 30 silverThe hail-iron frame she forged holds a ward-weave your old frame would have dropped.Upgrade: Ward LoomThe questline ends here.
- Leave the loom frame and take only a visitor's share of keel straps.She shrugs, hangs the loom frame on her wall for the next ship, and bolts three hail-iron straps cut from scrap stock onto your keel.+2 max hullThe questline ends here.
Two Fires
Right away5When the hail stops, Brand banks both fires and sits down on the anvil. The straps are bolted to your keel and the new frame is mounted in your Ward Loom. "Two jobs in a single storm. I haven't done that since my sister left." She looks around the forge, seeing what else she can spare.
- Ask for nothing more.Pleased that you didn't press your luck, she hands over a gift anyway: a sack of hail-iron bolt heads forged from the small offcuts.+6 boltsThe questline ends here.
- Buy her spare tongs and hammers. (20 silver)Costs 20 silverShe charges you only the price of the raw iron. Good hail-iron tools make every repair aboard easier, and your crew test them out on the hail dents before you set sail.+1 Repair skill XP+4 hullThe questline ends here.
The Harbour Bells
At the delivery port6 Deliver the smith's hail-iron bells.
The harbourmaster had given the bells up for lost. She strikes each one as it comes out of the straw, and every note rings true. There is one bell more in the crate than her order called for. "Brand always sends an extra in case one cracks. None cracked. It is yours by custom, or I'll buy it for the fog dock."
- Keep the extra bell for your ship.Hung beside the main hatch, its clear ring carries into every hold. Any fire aboard is spotted sooner and contained faster.Fitting: Fire BellThe questline ends here.
- Sell her the extra bell.She pays you out of the harbour funds and hangs the bell on the fog dock that same evening.+45 silverThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord