The missing caravan is a step of the main quest in the prologue of Icewind Dale.
Quick walkthrough[]
- Talk to Hrothgar in his home. (optional[1])
- Find the caravan in The Hills.
- Find the supply crates inside the Orc Cave (optional, for higher reward)
- Report back to Hrothgar.
Walkthrough[]
Enter Hrothgar's home in Easthaven and talk to Hrothgar there. He tells you about the upcoming expedition he is putting together, and asks you to join when the time comes. Agree to do so.[2]
Once you have pledged to join his expedition, Hrothgar mentions that there is something he needs you to do first. Regardless of whether or not you agree to help, he tells you about the missing caravan that was meant to arrive in Easthaven, and asks you to locate it.[1]
Walk to the south-east corner of Easthaven and take the area transition to The Hills.
Not far into the hills, you encounter the broken-down wagons outside a cave, guarded by an orc. Walk up to the wagons. Unfortunately, they've been unloaded and abandoned.
| Technical details |
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The game uses an invisible ground region to track whether you have "found" the wagons: The first time a member of your party steps on this region, a quest variable is updated accordingly. |
At this point, you could return to Hrothgar to complete the quest, or (for a higher reward) continue on and enter the Orc Cave to look for the missing crates.
Inside the cave, you must fight your way through multiple groups of orcs, towards the center of the cave. Located on the western side of the central cavern, are the supply crates from the wagons. You can not retrieve them; simply walk up to them.
| Technical details |
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The game uses an invisible ground region to track whether you have "found" the crates: The first time a member of your party steps on this region, a quest variable is updated accordingly. |
(While you're here, you can also explore the rest of the cave for additional combat/loot and in order to find the Caravan Contract for the quest The fishmonger's supply problems.)
Return to Hrothgar the way you came. When you tell him what you discovered, he gives you:
- 1200 experience if you only found the wagons, or
- 2400 experience if you found both the wagons and the crates inside the cave.
Regardless of how you resolved the quest, Hrothgar now suggests you prepare yourself for the expedition, and tells you to take a list to Pomab – which brings us to the next step:
Appendix[]
Journal entries[]
When you get the quest:
| “ | The missing caravan Hrothgar asked us to find a missing caravan out of Caer-Dineval. The caravan was carrying valuable supplies intended for Easthaven. Hrothgar suggested we take the south bridge out of town and search for the caravan in the hills along the shores of Lac Dinneshere. We are to return to Easthaven and to Hrothgar either with the caravan or with news of its mysterious fate. |
” |
When you report back about only the wagons:
| “ | The missing caravan We found the ambushed caravan bound from Caer-Dineval to Easthaven and returned to Hrothgar to tell him the grave news. The loss of the caravan and its vital supply cargo seemed to worry him, but he was grateful nonetheless |
” |
When you report back about the wagons and the supply crates:
| “ | The missing caravan We found the ambushed caravan bound from Caer-Dineval to Easthaven. We returned to Hrothgar to tell him of our discovery and of how we tracked the marauding orc raiders back to their lair. The stout warrior seemed somewhat worried about the orc attack, but was relieved to know that the supplies were still recoverable. |
” |
(+2 similar journal entries if you found the wagons/crates before having first gotten the quest.)
Footnotes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The quest can also be completed without talking to Hrothgar first, by simply finding the wagons and/or crates on your own initiative and then reporting them to Hrothgar. The experience rewards are the same.
- ↑ The expedition is central to the main quest. If you refuse to join, the main quest can only proceed once you come back and tell Hrothgar that you changed your mind.