Crown of the Giant Queen: Session 5 - Range of Motion

When last we left our heroes… With their first major adventure behind them, the companions took some much-deserved downtime actions:

• Karalin and Shadlaharl worked together to bring in a notorious bandit leader over the Spring, tracking him down and tricking him (with a little bit of luck) to come along quietly. They split both the heft reward as well as the fame garnered by this accomplishment.
• Vasiral took a trip to the Holy City of Sencankarr itself, where he spent two weeks praying at the shrine of Tenuyala, the Wolf. On the second week, the Creator heard his prayer, and his maimed hand was healed, though a scar remains to remind him of the battle.
• Kanuvarja spent the Spring attempting to compose a ballad about a Weixranbori knight who may or may not have been loosely based on Shadlaharl. Unfortunately, the ballad was maudlin and poorly written, and even the common folk would not attend a repeat performance.
• Varjalis spent the Spring corresponding with and travelling to meet religious experts and trace down the origins of a strange set of idols she had begun investigating back when she was in Sencankarr.* She uncovered an ancient fragment, as well as a series of theories which may point to the forgotten truth of the idols.

As the Spring passed to summer, rumors came from Sencankarr of the growing madness of King Onwae. Some say he even drowned a concubine in the royal gardens (though hopefully not in the Queen’s Pool!). A fleet is mustering near Sencankarr, and there are rumors that it will sale for the Leopard Isles soon. In the Bay of Gjanju (the region where the players are), things have gone well, and the initial growing season has been promising. Trade, on the other hand, has been bad, due to the depredations of Njeitbori pirates attacking ships headed up or down the Straights to or from Theyokarr in the south.

On the 9th of Wanorsuna, a Karanral (4th day of the week), the companions were called before Sir Ianral. He was concerned about the growing boldness of the Njeitbori pirates, and wants to establish a forward outpost on one of the three large islands on the eastern edge of the Bay Region (Kingfisher’s Isle, Itus’ Isle, and the Dancing Isle). These islands are considered haunted by the locals, and few have visited them within living memory. Sir Ianor asked the company to survey each of the three isles to determine which one might be most suitable for an outpost. Such an outpost would need three things: 1) a good harbor for the small sloops Sir Ianor’s men use for patrols; 2) adequate stone and wood to construct a watchtower and conduct repairs to ships; 3) a vantage point from which a watchtower could be built to keep an eye on the sea for miles around.

Before they left, the companions stocked up on Bitter Rockweed poultices, and Karalin decided to question some of the local old men (using her feminine charms to do so) about the islands. Between flirtatious overtures (including boasting about the “range of motion” in his hips), one old sailor told her that the islands were “haunted,” “out of our time,” and inhabited by “mudspawn” – simulacra created by an ancient sorcerer, now abandoned by their maker. In his lifetime, only one person from the four villages (that he knows of) ever stepped foot on the islands, a strange old man named Lasuyar, and he never returned.

With as much information gathered as possible, the companions set out for the isles. Their ship, the Jasper Python, was commanded by Captain Anurfal, a crusty but good-natured old veteran, who asked them where they wanted to go first. They decided to begin by exploring Kingfisher Isle. As they sailed into the evening and through the night, they learned the story of the Sunder, four barren islands they passed on the left. According to local lore, the Sunder was the hammer of a giantess, and was shattered in her battle with her kin. It would be reforged at the end of the world, when she would come to reclaim her land. During the voyage, Vasiral had an ominous dream: He was sitting at a table, drinking a bowl of blood drained from the corpses of men. The men were all too small for some reason, and as he drank the blood he wept tears, and his tears were blood as well. 

The next morning, they sighted land. Sailing along the coast of Kingfisher Isle, Vasiral’s keen eyes spotted several huts built on the shore, just within the treeline, clearly intended to be hidden from view by anyone sailing past. Finding a harborage, they sailed in and the five companions disembarked. As they stepped out of the boat and onto the beach, a dozen figures burst from the water around them. They had fallen into an ambush!