[Pathfinder] Kingmaker Redux, part 34: Troubles and Bounties

 

From the journal of Lythande Syldorei

Mid-Neth, 4712

The past three months have been a challenge for us. There have been several waves of illness in our fledgling nation, and several monsters passing through that threatened our citizens. But the gods have also taken pity on us and given us a bounty of food to share with the people so those who have been too ill to work have not gone hungry. Praise the Dawnflower, I have been able to use her mercy to alleviate some suffering, though I have not the power of a priest to remove all illness from a sufferer. For this we had to reach out to our neighbors and ask for priests to come and give us their aid. Sadly they didn't arrive in time to prevent some deaths. We've started construction of an orphanage in Leveton to house some of the poor children who have lost their parents.

We had less opportunity to make improvements on our lands and towns during the plagues, but we've managed to begin construction of a castle in Leveton and added some walls to protect that community as there have been rumors of trouble in Brevoy. We've had reports of one of the Swordlord families being poisoned. 

Even more troubling were news of a giant seen in the south, and the lack of response to any messages we've sent to Varnhold. The giant problem has been dealt with, but we may need to pay Varnhold a visit. I pray that it's only other affairs taking up the Varnlings' attention that prevents them writing to us.

We haven't heard from Jubilost in some time, but he'd sent us maps of the territory his band explored south of the Gurdin River near Lake Silverstep. He spoke of an islet in the Little Sullen River, which he has for some reason named Dragonleaf Gulch. He hasn't explored the island itself but indicates there may be something dangerous on the island that was enough to keep the gnomes away. We planned to go and investigate further ourselves, as we hope to begin settling new citizens there in the future once we've prepared the way for them.

To prepare for our giant-hunting journey to the east, Maria suggested purchasing a large magical bag, something we wish that we'd had when we found the roc eggs. Prepared with this item to carry anything we found, we set out and came soon enough to evidence of the giant's presence: a series of huge footprints. Zander had become distracted by plucking blossoms to take back to Romakka and didn't notice the prints, but the rest of us soon spied a creature hiding behind a large log. When we noticed it the creature came rushing out with a roar. 

It wasn't the sort of giant I had expected. Chahana tried to speak with it in several languages, but she doesn't speak the language of giants and it didn't appear to understand her. Zander's attention was finally captured by something other than flowers when the giant rushed out. He took flight, and as he swooped around behind it he realized it was a marsh giant. They are very hardy and powerful but otherwise not especially resistant to weapons or spells. I called on the Guiding Light to grant me her aid and readied my spear in both hands, running up to join Maria as she had used her special ability to allow me to approach the giant without it being able to swing at me with the fishing spear it carried. 

Then a bolt of lightning went sizzling past me from Reislin. The giant then surrounded itself with a cloud of fog, making it difficult to see. The fog engulfed Maria, Zander, and I as well. This didn't entirely hide the giant from sight, as we were close enough that it wasn't completely obscured, but Goldwing had come with us and wasn't willing to fly into the fog. Zander stabbed it in the leg to prevent it moving away from us. Maria and I set upon it with our blades, and the giant retaliated by striking out at Maria. Then Zander stabbed it deeply with his blade from behind, and the giant toppled over.

The giant proved to be carrying a bag that, in addition to an assortment or rocks and tubers and a deboned pig carcass, also contained a very finely crafted warhammer of cold iron and a similarly fine scythe of ordinary steel. There was also a spell scroll among its possessions. I wonder who it took these items from, as I can see no reason for a marsh giant to need such things.

After our meeting with the marsh giant, we went on to the island Jubilost named Dragonleaf Gulch. Perhaps he meant that name to apply to the ravine where the island lies and not the island itself. It is a small crescent-shaped island covered in thick brush with a rocky edge along the northern shore. Soon enough we found evidence of something large that appeared to have dragged something along the ground, tearing up the soil and ground cover as it moved. 

Chahana suggested that perhaps it was some type of plant creature rather than an animal, and she was rapidly proved correct when a large plant creature appeared and moved aggressively toward us. The creature resembled a flytrap plant, but it was larger than any of us and had four mouths. It rushed right up to me and clamped one mouth down on my arm, holding me tight while it attempted to pull me inside its gullet.

Reislin fortified us with her spell of hasty movement while Zander took to the air, and I dropped the spear I'd been holding and drew my scimitar to slash at the monster. Chahana activated the magic of her helm and gored it with the stag antlers. The creature let me go when Maria moved toward it. With all of us surrounding it but Reislin, it reached out with its many mouths to bite each one of us. It suffered several gashes and was impaled by arrows and peppered with Reislin's tiny but unerring missiles. Then it got a secure hold on Zander and sucked him entirely into its mouth. Not even a bit of him was still visible. It grabbed me again and tried to do the same to me. From inside its mouth I felt its digestive juices trying to burn me, but the abilities I inherited from my celestial ancestor protected me, as they partly protected me a moment later when Reislin sent a bolt of lightning into the giant flytrap's body. Maria then stabbed it with all her might and the plant stopped moving and went flaccid, allowing a gasping and acid-burned Zander to escape.

After we dealt with the awful creature, truly a terrible danger to anyone innocently visiting its island, we found it had taken many victims from local wildlife and travelers. The island was littered with bones of all sorts of creatures, even a few people. To our surprise we discovered what were clearly the bones of centaurs as well, though we have only heard of the centaur tribes living on the other side of the mountains nearer to Varnhold. 

The creature's human victims had left behind some items that we gathered up before making our way back to Lorewynd. We found a sum of gold and silver coins and even a few platinum pieces, a quality sword, a magical rod that can allow a mage to cast spells silently, and an enchanted helm that permits the wearer to understand unknown languages and read magical texts. 

Next: part 35, A New Year