Rise of the Runelords Recap # 115 [RPG]

 [6 Gozran 4708]

Having camped at the edge of a massive hippodrome that has fallen into ruin and been overtaken by vegetation, the Heroes of Varisia awake to realize that the plant life has somehow moved towards them!  Vines dripping some sort of acid wrap around Erik and Morgiana, causing intense burns.  Ava manages to get Erik free through spellcraft, while Jinkatsyu cuts Morgiana free.  Kang realises the vegetation is some sort of living jungle that can’t be killed, only evaded.  The adventurers retreat in the face of the slow-moving doom.

Later that day, in a new camp set up nearby, Erik realises the group is being watched—by an invisible stone giant!  When challenged, the giant becomes visible and says his name is Gyukak.  He says the presence of the adventurers has become known to the authorities in Xin-Shalast, but that he wants to help them.  Gyukak is candid that is motives are self-interested in nature: he is the leader of a rebel contingent of giants who want to escape the domination of those in charge.  He wants the adventurers to create a distraction by attacking a target of great significance so that, in the chaos, he and his small band will be able to slip away.  Gyukak suggests three possibilities: 1) an assassination attempt on Khalib, a powerful wizard who is Karzoug’s apprentice and the go-between his master and the rune giants who run the fortress named Shahlaria; 2) an attack on Ghlorfaex, a blue dragon who occupies a building near the fortress and who is known as an ally to the occupiers; 3) or a flat attempt to climb the golden stairs that lead to the Pinnacle of Avarice, Karzoug’s mountain-top palace.  The adventurers are rightly sceptical and suspect a trap, so Gyukak tries to sweeten the offer, promising them knowledge about the “weakness they do not know they have on Mhar Massif” in exchange.  Rather than make any promises at the moment, the adventurers decide to consider the proposal and tell Gyukak to return the next day.

[7 Gozran 4708]

Over breakfast, the adventurers discuss Gyukak’s approach.  Ava remains suspicious of the stone giant, and wonders aloud how he found them—she says perhaps it is Gyukak who has been doing all of the scrying of the party over recent weeks!  Erik, on the other hand, wants to trust him, saying that followers of Milani the Everbloom are tasked with freeing people from slavery.  Jinkatsyu is keen to take on the dragon Ghlorfaex, while Kang suggests the direct approach: scaling the mountain and taking the fight to Karzoug!  But the others worry that Ghlorfaex, Khalib, and others could attack during the ascent when the adventurers would be at their most vulnerable. 

A decision still hasn’t been reached when Gyukak returns, and the stone giant is pressed with many more questions.  He explains that the fortress of Shahlaria is ruled by the largest and most powerful of giant-kind—those bearing the rune of Karzoug himelf!  These “rune giants” can magically compel other giants into their service, and they’ve used their powers to force the leaders of various giant tribes throughout the Kodar Mountains into rallying to Karzoug’s banner.  Khalib, Karzoug’s apprentice, delivers messages from his master to the rune giants in Shahlaria.  Gyukak says Khalib usually comes and goes in a way no one can discern, but that he’ll definitely be at the highest tower of Shahlaria at twilight tomorrow to greet the impending arrival of a ship that flies through the skies!  He says the strange black vessel appears out of a bright hole in the sky, but doesn’t know who sails it or what cargo it contains.  He explains to the adventurers where Shahlaria, Ghlorfaex’s lair, and the golden stairs are in relation to their current campsite. 

After hearing all of this, the group reach a consensus to form an alliance with Gyukak.  They tell him they’ll create a distraction and just need to decide which one.  Upon their oath, he proffers the information they desperately need about their unknown weakness.  He explains that the higher reaches of Mhar Massif, the mountain that looms over Xin-Shalast and contains Karzoug’s citadel, is protected by a magical dome of some kind.  Any who pass into the dome without bearing one of Karzoug’s tokens—usually a ring—suffer terrible pains and soon die.  With that foreboding message, he says he’ll return at dawn each day until the adventurers have formulated a plan of attack to create the distraction he and his giants need to escape.

Once Gyukak is gone, the adventurers discuss what to do, though the frequent scrying they’ve suffered makes them justifiably paranoid that they could be playing right into the hands of their foes!  Nonetheless, a plan is necessary.  Jinkatsyu suggests killing Khalib and commandeering the flying ship and taking it directly to Karzoug’s citadel, but admits he has no idea how to sail such a vessel.  Erik suggests tackling each step in order: first Khalib, then the dragon, and then the steps.  His views seem to sway the others, and they agree to scout Shahlaria after lunch.  Noticeably, Morgiana doesn’t eat—the hobgoblin has remembered that today is Currentseve, a holiday for those who worship Gozreh, and fasting is a way to lend spiritual energy to others.  When asked, she explains some of her beliefs.  As they’re finishing the meal, someone observes that Morgiv and the skulks haven’t been around recently—Ava suggests that perhaps they’ve returned to the underground tunnels they’re most comfortable in.

The party crosses the city.  Although it’s broad daylight, the shadows cast by the colossal architecture all around them makes it easy to stay out of sight.  Following Gyukak’s directions, they soon reach the ponderous fortress he called Shahlaria.  Situated on a low rise overlooking the northern edge of a neighbourhood, the fortress features incredibly thick walls, wide towers, and gates that must be more than sixty feet tall.  Several types of giants pass in and out of the gate, but the one that catches the adventurers’ attention as they watch from hiding is simply the largest and most imposing giant they have ever seen: a forty-foot tall behemoth with skin that is black and pitted like roughly cast iron, but etched with glowing red runes.  “A rune giant,” Kang whispers.  Jinkatsyu whispers back “I saw one of them—well, a corpse of one—at Hook Mountain!”  The adventurers watch the rune giant stop in front of the gate and begin yelling at a band of stone giants who seem to almost cower at his words.  Suddenly, however, with no warning at all, Jinkatsyu jumps out of hiding and inexplicably shouts at the top of his lungs “There are the cursed giants! Attack!”

Jinkatsyu looks horrified and taken aback by his words, but it’s too late!  The rune giant furrows its brow and begins literally walking on the air, quite quickly, in the party’s direction.  Instinctively, the heroes run for it, but Morgiana is a step slower than the others.  Using its powers of magical compulsion, the rune giant says simply “You.  Sit.  Stay.”  and Morgiana does!  Ava sees what has happened and heroically turns around.  She somehow manages to dispel the incredibly-powerful compulsion with her own spell, giving Morgiana the chance to escape.  “Curious.” says the giant, impassively.

The adventurers run back to the ruined hippodrome at top speed.  Kang punches a wall and glares at Jinkatsyu.  “Dammit Jinks, what in Hell is wrong with you!”  The kitsune looks confused and abashed, and suggests maybe he should be gagged—he can’t understand why he’s been saying strange things he can barely remember.  Kang observes that, so far at least, the lack of control is only for brief periods, but that if someone—including Karzoug—is in Jinkatsyu’s head, their every move could be known in advance.  Ava notes that Jinkatsyu does seem very susceptible to outside mental control, citing the

curse of the wendigo that nearly brought him to murder and cannibalism.  Various theories of who is taking over Jinkatsyu’s body, and how, are floated.  Some suspicion falls on the strange Sihedron-marked rings that Jinkatsyu and Erik wear, but the observation is made that Erik hasn’t been affected.

With no answer to the dilemma forthcoming, the adventurers return to discussing the possibilities of attacking Karzoug’s apprentice and, possibly, an airship!

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Director's Commentary

Gyukak is one of the very few non-hostile NPCs in Xin-Shalast.  His appearance worked really well I thought in giving the group some essential background on what was going on (such as the rune giants and especially the occluding field) and where to focus their energies (gaining the rings necessary to survive the occluding field).  The PCs never discovered Gyukak wasn't actually a stone giant, and most of his "giant rebellion" occurred off-screen anyway.

A potential assassination attempt against Khalib wasn't written into the AP, and I don't remember exactly why I included it as a possibility.  I think I wanted to establish the link between Karzoug's palace at the top of the mountain and what was happening in the city below, and also Khalib a few moments in the spotlight since otherwise he'd be just another battle in the palace.  It would also be good, I thought, to give the PCs some experience in fighting a high level wizard.

For Shahlaria, I just had to rely on the AP's very sketchy description and the PC's imagination, as there was no feasible way for me create a massive giant-sized fortress from whole cloth and then get it down on grid paper.  

The idea of Karzoug temporarily possessing a party member to distract or endanger them is written into the AP, though of course I had to pick particularly inopportune moments.