Xardas

"Congratulations. You're the first to make it past my guardians."

Xardas greets the Hero's arrival at his tower with grudging respect, noting that he is the first to make it past his guardians alive; asked if others tried, he answers flatly that they did not survive. He mentions that his servant already gave the Hero a teleport rune allowing him to return at will, and offers to teach the Hero some basic Orcish before he sets out, calling it something that will be of great help.

When the Hero reports that Gomez had the Fire Mages killed, Xardas is unsurprised, blaming their misplaced trust: "those who sow wind must reap a storm. I always told Corristo not to trust Gomez."

Xardas is openly contemptuous of Saturas's separate plan to use focus stones and the ore pile to blow open the Barrier, insisting nobody can control all of the ore pile's energy, warning that all it would accomplish is getting everyone involved killed, and calling it a far bigger threat to take care of than anything else at hand. When the Hero later says Saturas sent him about the focus stones, Xardas shuts the idea down outright: "Forget about Saturas and his glittering pile of ore. That won't bring you the freedom you're after."

He directs the Hero toward a shaman who might vouch for him with the orcs, saying he was last seen at the old castle up on the mountain east of here. Asked why this shaman, named Ur-Shak, has been dishonored among his own people, Xardas admits he does not know the details, since he and the orcs have never exactly sat down for a cup of tea. Told that the Sleeper the Brotherhood worshipped is really a demon summoned by the orcs to end mankind, Xardas shows no surprise, remarking only that he appreciates the Hero risking his life just to play errand boy for those idiot cultists.

After the Hero returns from the Sleeper Temple with the weapon, Xardas identifies the sword inside the hidden sanctum as Uriziel, recalling from his research that an Avatar of Innos once used it to fight the orcs before falling in battle. He was never certain the story was true until seeing it firsthand, recognizing the shape, the insets, and the engravings as a match. He explains the blade's magic was drained by a thousand years spent maintaining a barrier spell, and that he has a scroll capable of channeling energy from blue ore into the sword. To use it, the Hero needs a second mage, specifically the young Fire Mage who survived the massacre, to help cast the spell while he plunges Uriziel into the ore pile.

Reminded that the Hero is himself a mage and asks how recharging Uriziel helps him personally, Xardas admits the thought had completely escaped his attention and promises a solution once the sword is dealt with. He later agrees to initiate the Hero into the Sixth Circle of magic, judging him capable enough, but warns of its grim reputation as the Circle of Death, explaining, in his words, "it's one thing for a god to breathe life into his creation," and something else entirely to end one. He insists the Hero train under Saturas first, promising to instruct him afterward. On the rune bound to Uriziel, he warns that removing it breaks the bond with the blade for good, with no way back, and admits he is unsure exactly what spell the freed rune will hold, though he expects it to be as powerful as the sword by itself. He later approves when the Hero brings back armor taken from Gomez's stores, calling him witty as usual and noting the armor will be a great help down there. Once the Hero and his mage ally recharge Uriziel using the ore pile's energy, the sword's power is restored.