Coldwind Blackfoot  

He's up as of March 26th ....

After Zoning into Dreadspire once

You say, 'Hail, Coldwind Blackfoot'
Coldwind Blackfoot regards you with his sharp cold eyes. Then he turns his head a little toward you and sniffs the air that has passed your flesh. He glares at you, then nods reluctantly. 'I can smell the Master on you. You have been inside the spire and returned alive. This we share, though my route out of that place was undoubtedly more ghastly than yours. I am willing to share some of my experiences with you as a cautionary tale, if you [would like to hear] what I have to tell.'
You say, 'would like to hear'
Coldwind Blackfoot says 'The history of my people is long and difficult for an outsider to understand. What I am about to tell you is deeply linked to that history, so I you may have trouble understanding my motivations and the choices I have made. Do not concern yourself with why I did what I did, listen to the results of my actions and understand what I have learned from them. My story begins many years ago when I decided that I was more capable than Bloodeye. I chose to try to defeat our enemy, the one that corrupted our cousins. I gathered those of my family and clan that I knew would join me and I tried to breach the Dreadspire and find this Master that has torn our people apart and do the same to him. I took [five of them] with me to find a way in, to try to destroy the Hive Queen.'
You say, 'five of them'
Coldwind Blackfoot says 'Yes, only five. I was prideful and there were only five that I trusted. We were clever and times were different then. The Drachnid were overconfident and we were able to bypass most of them to reach the topmost level of the Hive. But once there we were uncertain how to reach the spire. We could find no entrance and so we chose to kill Sendaii and hope that she would have a key that we could use. At the very least we would have destroyed a great enemy. We passed unseen into her lair and came upon her unaware. The great disgusting creature should have died under our claws, we thought. We were fools, of course. Three of my cousins and my sister were killed in the battle. To my shame I was captured. There were many weeks of torture that I will not discuss. I knew that my end would come when I was implanted with her eggs and left to hang as food for her newborn. That, obviously, is not [what happened].'
You say, 'what happened'
Coldwind Blackfoot says 'I only remember those weeks vaguely. I clearly remember my single day in Dreadspire. I awoke on a cold slab of stone. Above me stood a figure that I at first took to be an elf of some sort. There were two undead Shiliskin holding my limbs with their unholy strength. The man-figure never spoke to me, but I felt him inside my mind and body. His power pulled memory from me as easily as I might pull a blade of grass. He was able to infuse his power into my body and the touch of it made me ill. I sensed that every time I felt disgusted by his presence he was pleased. He took everything from me, turned it over in his mind and then placed it back. When he was done I felt in my mind a challenge. He seemed to have found me acceptable in some way, as if the least rotten of a basket of mushrooms. His challenge was to [come and find him]. He then released me and the Shiliskin zombies beat me unconscious.'
You say, 'come and find him'
Coldwind Blackfoot says 'It was an offer, of some sort. If I could perform the tasks needed to find him, then I would be powerful enough to earn a place at his side. I sensed the truth of that from his offer and from the sense of power and evil that was now inside me. I refused the offer and have refused to fight anyone since that day. That refusal along with my stupid sacrifice of my cousins and sister have made me an outcast. When your people opened up the topworld to us I chose to leave Darkhollow and live here. I am content to live my life here in this space between the two worlds, for I can not enter your world and I will not go back to my own.'