Nihlathak is an NPC found in Harrogath, the town of Act five. (He is also a monster, when he turns traitor halfway through the act.) Nihlathak is the lone surviving elder of the Barbarian high council, and has been driven nearly to madness by his worries about his people and his grief at the many deaths he has witnessed. He is embittered and dour, and his dialogues are far from welcoming.
Nihlathak serves as a merchant when characters first arrive, offering a gambling service. He vanishes from town when the third quest becomes active, and does not return. Anya takes over his role as the gambling NPC when she returns to town upon completion of the fourth quest.
Act Five Quest Dialogues
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| Act Five NPCs |
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Introduction
Well well, the siege has everything in short supply… except fools. Why would you seek this place, stranger? Are you a vulture come to loot the bodies of our fallen warriors? Regardless, this is no place to make a name for yourself. The mountain is ours to protect. It is only a matter of time before Hell’s Legions are routed.
Introduction: Assassin Only
Well well, an Assassin. *Laugh* Well, I’m sure we are all grateful for your presence in our town. You need not have made the journey. I can personally say that your skills are not required here. You would serve your clan better elsewhere.
Introduction: Necromancer Only
Ah, a Necromancer. While I admire your courage in seeking out the darker side of magic, we really have little need of your skills. The battle will turn soon enough without your meddling. Yet, I should have expected to see your kind here. You are like a moth to the flame, drawn to all this death. It feeds you in more ways that one, does it not?
Quest One: Stop the Siege
After Given
After so many have died, who are you to think that you can accomplish what our proud warriors could not?
Early Return
What are you still doing here? I thought you were going off to die. Go, and be quick about it.
Success
Ending the siege does not earn immediate respect, outsider. Respect only comes with sacrifice, something I’m sure you know nothing of.
Quest Two: Rescue on Mt. Arreat
After Given
You have proven you can take life, warrior, but can you save it as well?
Early Return
Did you ever stop to think why these demons are capturing Qual-Kehk’s men? Why they are attacking us? Have you considered what Baal wants with the mountain? No, you’ve not. You have no idea what you are dealing with.
Success
So, you brought the lost sheep home to the shepherd. Well done.
Quest Three: Prison of Ice
Nihlathak vanishes from town once your character reaches the Frozen River level, wherein Anya is imprisoned. He is not seen again as an NPC, but only as a monster at the conclusion of the fourth quest.
After Given
Anya! Who have you been talking to? Likely it was that meddling Malah. Well, I’ll tell you what really happened. Anya came to me for guidance, after receiving a vision that her mother and younger brother were trapped in the land beyond the ice caves. She had decided to go rescue them. I told her that her quest was a foolish one, and that she’d be safer staying within the city walls; however, she is a willful girl and would not listen to me. The next morning she was gone. No one is more distraught than I over losing her. However, if you feel the need to be Malah’s errand-child, I won’t try to stop you.
Early Return
Look, I’ve told you. She’s dead. If you knew what was good for you, you’d concentrate your efforts on saving Harrogath, not on lost causes like Anya.
Gossips
Qual-Kehk is useless. He has blindly sent our warriors to their deaths, assuming that Baal’s legions would fight as men do. Of course, everyone knows they do not.
The demon hordes have grown powerful beyond measure, aided by our foolish mistakes. But I may have found a way to correct those mistakes.
Oh yes. I remember our warriors as children. Malah would set their broken bones and give them powders for their fevers. Now, they return to her with wounds that will never heal. I am tired. Please, leave me.
If you have nothing useful for me, be on your way.
Anya’s father was my good friend. There are so many to mourn, I have no time for you.
I have long been criticized, but especially of late, since the deaths of my fellow Elders. Through it all, I have learned one thing: each man must do what is right, no matter what others think.
The Council of Elders always believed itself prepared for the coming of the Three. Obviously, we were not prepared enough.
Assassin Only
If you’re looking for cases of treacherous magic, Assassin, take a hard look at Larzuk. He was the only one in town that escaped the red fever last spring. He claimed his good fortune was due to hand washing before meals. Very suspicious.
Necromancer Only
Why would you seek this place, stranger? Are you a vulture come to loot the bodies of our fallen warriors? Regardless, this is no place to make a name for yourself. The mountain is ours to protect. It is only a matter of time before Hell’s Legions are routed.