Gildrak Steelbrand

Gildrak Steelbrand is a dwarven blacksmith known for his top quality pots, pans, and assorted cookware. He co-owns a restaurant in Elton called the Hearty Harvest with Tony Child.

History

Gildrak ventured away from home at the age of 40 to strike his own claim to the family tradition of mining. He worked his way north through The Iron Crags in search of a suitable vein but only came across the same old copper and silver deposits. That wouldn't do. Gildrak had a feeling that there was something better out there, something that would set him apart from everyone else. His suspicion was proven right when he encountered Iko Sakora, a Yung Shai elder. After helping Iko out of a nasty situation with a terrible fiend known as a Tannarukk, he rewarded Gildrak with the knowledge of a rarely known metal that could be found in the Teeth of the Iron Crags called Hihi'irokane.

Gildrak ventured on into the Teeth and spent a couple years looking for this mythical Hihi'irokane. At one point he was convinced this was nothing but a fairy tale and had decided to turn back when a brutal winter storm hit. Gildrak thankfully found a cave in time and was able to wait out the storm there. This cave proved to be more than a simple respite from the weather though. He was surprised to find that this cave was particularly warm when there was no heat source to be found - warmth being one of the properties of Hihi'irokane. Sure enough, after years or purposeful planning and hunting, a bad storm and good luck was what finally led Gildrak to the rare ore he was looking for.

While the metal was rare, the work was not. He quickly made arraignments to start a mining operation here and began harvesting Hihi'irokane. Since this particular metal was so unknown, Gildrak also set up a forge and blacksmith right at the mines so he could learn and experiment. It would do well for the usual suspects of weapons, but Gildrak found particular success in two areas - winter based armor and cooking hardware such as pots and pans. He found he was particularly intrigued by the idea of making high quality cookware - most blacksmiths would simply give their lowest quality metal to their least skilled workers to make pots and pans from.

Word of Gildrak's cookware quickly spread through taverns and inns. Aside from the high quality craftsmanship, Hihi'irokane has a few inherent properties that made it well suited to the task. It is both rust-proof and one of the best conductors of heat among known metals. Perfect for all levels of cooks and chefs, but particularly appreciated by those of high skill.

While taking a tour of the Free Cities to decide on a location for a southern Hihi'irokane forge, he met the chef Tony Child in Wellspring. They got along quite well right from the start and decided to travel together since they were headed in the same direction. After enjoying Tony's cooking for so many nights, Gildrak decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to showcase his Hihi'irokane cookware. He proposed that Tony and himself open a restaurant, pairing Tony's top of the line culinary skills with Gildrak's top of the line cookware. Tony agreed and thus, the Hearty Harvest in Elton was founded.