Kardik Silverhoard

Kardik Silverhoard is a mountain dwarf blacksmith originally from the surface who immigrated to the Underdark after meeting his duergar wife, Berea. He and his wife are considered two of the most skilled smiths in the city and Kardik lives a happy life there, if one that sometimes leaves him longing for the homeland he grew up in. Berea was not accepted in his homeland any more than he was accepted in hers, and so they ended up at the Deep Spire together. The back room of their shop is built around a natural volcanic vent and they use the heat of the magma over a traditional forge in their blacksmithing.

Meeting the Thaig Expedition

When the Thaig Expedition adventurers arrived at the Deep Spire, the Silverhoards' forge was one of the first places they stopped after hearing the sounds of hammering coming from the smithy near the 2nd tier's entrance. Seeing most of these travelers didn't speak Undercommon, Kardik introduced himself and his wife to them in Common before asking what he could do for them. At their asking, Kardik gave them a general overview of his services.
Sunny held up an image of his brother, Haz, and asked if Kardik had seen him. The dwarven smith confirmed that he had indeed, recalling that Haz had come through weeks before. Strangely though, Haz had been interested in buying raw ore, particularly metal ore, rather than finished goods. Kardik had directed Haz to both a general store and a bulk goods company and suggested Sunny try asking around those places, thinking that Sunny intended a happy reunion between the pair.
The adventurers thanked him for the information he had provided and promised to return to his shop if they needed his services while visiting the Deep Spire.

Goods and Advice for Elycia

The adventurer Elycia Mirais returned to the forge later that day, seeking to commission a special project. She described a device she'd seen in her home city, a Wrist-Mounted Grappling Hook, and wanted to know if Kardik and/or Berea could make one. She wanted it to help fight some sort of flying monster, from what he could understand. Kardik told her that such a complex mechanical device was likely beyond their abilities, but that a local man named Mr. Markabreech could likely assist her.
In the meantime, he showed her some Bolas he had in stock as well as the more robust version of it, Chain Bolas. Seeing that these could also prove quite useful in dealing with flying opponents, Elycia elected the purchase two versions of the chain variety and thanked Kardik for his assistance.

Sunny & (Dwarven) History of the Loch

Yet another day later, Sunny visited the Silverhoard's forge hoping to get help from someone local who spoke Common. The warforged had acquired a map of the Black Loch and was curious about several locations noted on it. Kardik informed him that several of the ruins around the area were originally built by his people in ancient times, before they were ousted from the Underdark and left to live on or near the surface. He admittingly knew less about the non-dwarven structures, but had still heard a few things in his time living at the Deep Spire and was willing to give Sunny a hand.
There were three places Sunny was interested in: Charwell Fortress, Ollin's Borehole, and Clogwyn Prison. Kardik explained the history of the fortress as well as the event that earned the place its current name. The duergar who once planned to attack the Deep Spire had used it as a staging point, but when they abandoned the attack and turned for Brazenthrone, the undermanned fortress was conquered by a dragon. This very same dragon, Yolheimsu'um, was the one who now lived in Brazenthrone and whose presence allowed the duergar to forge powerful weapons and armor in dragonfire.
Sunny told Kardik his suspicions about a group of kobold vipers and a behir seemingly being interested in killing Yolheimsu'um. Kardik scoffed at the idea, saying that it would be suicide given how no one had ever successfully attack Brazenthrone. This led to him also mentioning a group of stone giants lived there and contributed to the city's defenses as well. How Deepking Oghren Orzammar III got a dragon and stone giants to play nice with each other, he didn't know, but the Deepking had a long-standing reputation as a political genius. Sunny speculated that it might make more sense if the guy was secretly a mind flayer, which prompted Kardik to mention Gyan'dis as the only illithid settlement in the area. He also recommended Sunny stay far, far away from there.
Moving onto the topic of Ollin's Borehole, Kardik stated it was an abandoned deep gnome gem mine. The place had been raided by the duergar of Brazenthrone and the deep gnomes never returned, considering the place unsafe with its location now known to others. The stories said the duergar, much to their frustration, had never found the last of the gems the deep gnomes had hidden away there despite days or weeks of searching. Kardik mentioned that he believed another local, Tarson Markabreech, used to work there, but that he'd never talked to him about it. He described Tarson as an inventor and a skittish fellow who mostly keeps to himself.
Lastly, the pair discussed Clogwyn Prison. This was another structure originally built by Kardik's ancestors; a prison on the Black Loch where the worst of the worst criminals were kept. Folks too dangerous to risk keeping in the ancient dwarven city should they ever get loose. But the prison, like other dwarven holdings, was abandoned in ancient times. In the centuries since, it had been flooded by the Loch's gradually rising water level. Kardik speculated that by now it was likely that the whole place was probably underwater.

Weapons for Underwater Combat

Elycia returned to Kardik a few days after the dwarf's discussion with Sunny. She explained that one of her comrades recently struggled in underwater combat due to his use of a longbow and was looking for a different weapon. Since range was her friend's primary concern, Kardik's initial suggestion was to simply use a crossbow instead. While she was mulling this over, he also suggested the use of a Torpedo Arrow. Elycia was not familiar with this type of arrow and Kardik retrieved a sample from his back room to show her as he explained how they worked. He didn't have any more in stock right now, but told her he could make a quiver's worth (20 arrows) by tomorrow afternoon. However, he also informed her that due to the specialty craftsmanship involved they were 10x the cost of regular arrows. The price didn't dissuade Elycia, who paid in advance and picked up the arrows the next day.