Nathan K'Barl

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Where Nathan came from is a mystery to many. He is in his fifties and clearly his career as a warrior started late in his life compared to many. But the answers as to who trained him, where he picked up his unusual weapons and why he became the mercenary soldier he is now remain an enigma.

Peregrine Airrider is one of the few who have some idea where he comes from. Nathan had once been an adventuring ally of Hawk’s and Kestrel’s, and Pez wanted to make sure his little brother was in no danger from this mysterious warrior. A master linguist himself, Pez had little difficulty in spotting the hint of a Swinn accent in Nathan’s voice. Judging by the calluses on his hands he had clearly spent his life in physical work. According to Noman he once talked to Nathan about farming and seemed to be knowledgeable on the subject. With the idea that Nathan may once have been a farmer in the Duchy of Swinn, Pez hired Firkin Greenberry to do a little travelling for him.

What Firkin uncovered was that during the minotaur invasion of the Duchy of Swinn many farmers found their lands razed. In a shanty town of beggars and refugees, still mouldering away all these years later, Firkin found a one-legged beggar who thought he remembered the man in the picture of Nathan that Firkin had with him. He remembered him as Old Nate, the father of one of the beggar’s friends as he was growing up. He thought he had died long ago though. The farm Old Nate and his family had called home was destroyed and their burned corpses had been found piled up outside.

Nathan’s weapons training appeared to be with the mercenary group known as the Wolfpack who operated behind the lines against the minotaurs. The first records of Nathan are when he took over as leader of the Wolfpack but it is not known when he joined. The Wolfpack were one of several groups hired by Baron Rushmont to engage in sabotage and were considered a great help in slowing down the minotaur advance. It was during this period that he began using his specially-modified crossbow. This weapon was used to fire exploding flasks of lamp oil instead of quarrels. Pez suspects there may be some link between the fate of Old Nate’s family and Nathan’s use of a weapon designed to burn down the minotaurs’ buildings.

After the minotaurs destroyed Bissel City Nathan was often sighted as a lone warrior. In the early days after the destruction he ran a service reuniting families who had been split up during the conflict. This further convinced Pez that there was a link between Old Nate and Nathan K’Barl. It was around this time that he started using his decanter of endless water. The fact that the decanter is broken and can only produce a geyser-like torrent has led Pez to speculate that Nathan discovered it in the ruins of Bissel City.

Following his investigation Pez was happy enough with what he had found. Everything he had discovered suggested that Nathan was honourable, reliable, and (underneath the gruff exterior) a caring individual with an almost fatherly care for those he works with. Following his stint with the heroes of the Vale he began a weapons business (with a discount to any who would join Rushmont's army), fought in the last minotaur invasion, then returned to his role in finding lost family members and reuniting them in Waltdorf. He worked as a bodyguard to Hawk and Kes for several years and like them became involved in keeping the draconians off the backs of the Heroes of the Vale during the quest to find the Dragon’s Graveyard. During that fight he was hurt protecting Kes and has only recently been able to return to the field.

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"Yes... I recall K'Barl. Came with us into Deepmountain, a great, powerful warrior. Quite smart too... he gave up adventuring and started a weapon smithing business. If you go there, tell him I sent you."

— Schallat

"Hihi, he give lots of little copper pennies."

— Klob

"Eees a dam gud fyta, an won ov da smartist peepel wott I no. Wenn I got da boss-job eee dint wont to joyn up, butt eee helpt lots wiv da settin up ov da noo meff-uds ov in-fors-munt, an eee givs uz a disk-kownt on iz weppuns an stuff. Datt sedd eee still ant mayd me won ov dem fyer-fyerin-krosbo fings..."

— Noman Kente