Kingmaker: Ep. 1 – Gongaii

Last session, the party answered Lady Kremenko’s open call to the Swordlands, taking the Lonesome Road south beneath a cold, gray autumn sky. They passed a pair of tight-lipped hunters heading north and pressed on to Otto’s remote trade post, a modest palisade with goats, chickens, and worry in the air. Otto and his wife Lana admitted them quickly and confided that bandits tied to a figure called the Stag Lord had tried to extort him two days prior; he killed one and feared they would return in force before promised soldiers arrived.

The group agreed to help. They kept watch through a wind-scoured night, then at dawn Tacho slipped into the woods and caught the faint scent of cold smoke to the southwest. Following the sign, they found a well-hidden camp of four bandits. The party sprang an ambush: Hapii surged forward and dazed the orc leader with a fey touch, Burke stepped from the brush and compelled one bandit to lay down his arms, and Adder’s crackling, geometric blast erased another. Tithro’s chain blade whirled and bit. The orc captain cut Tacho down with a brutal stroke before Adder punched a smoking hole through her, ending the fight.

One survivor—Wolfer—surrendered. Under firm questioning, he revealed the Stag Lord’s hill fort lay to the south with a watchtower and smoke signals, and pointed to another unaffiliated bandit camp tucked amid a pair of hills. He also mentioned a dozen gnome prospectors had gone upriver along the Skunk River. The party let him go north with a warning and returned to Otto with proof: three heads on stakes soon warned others off. Grateful, Otto promised support and pressed healing tinctures into their hands.

They sold pelts and spare gear, rested, and—after a modest bout of carousing—watched as a small detachment finally arrived: Keston, a sullen noble in gleaming plate, with three soldiers and Lady Kremenko’s banner. Burke’s easy charm loosened Keston’s tongue; a scandal with a weaver’s daughter had exiled him here, and despite the party’s urging to strike at the Stag Lord, he swore to hold the post rather than march. With the fort newly garrisoned, the bandit threat named, and rumors of Tartuscio and even a red dragon stirring in the southern hills, the path forward narrowed toward the Stag Lord’s shadowed stronghold.

OUTLINE:

Into the Swordlands and Arrival at Otto’s Post

• Traveled south along the Lonesome Road under cold autumn clouds
• Passed two hunters with a deer and pelts heading north
• Reached Otto’s small palisade post; Otto and Lana warned of bandits tied to the Stag Lord
• Agreed to help defend until Lady Kremenko’s promised soldiers arrived

Night Watch and Tracking the Threat

• Kept watch through the night inside the palisade
• At dawn, Hapii scouted the woods and caught the faint scent of smoke to the southwest
• Followed sign to a cleverly concealed four-bandit camp

Ambush at the Hidden Camp

• Hapii dazed the orc captain; Burke compelled one bandit to lie down
• Adder’s fractal blast killed one outright; Tithro’s chain blade struck hard
• The orc captain severely wounded Tacho before Adder finished her
• Captured survivor Wolfer revealed the Stag Lord’s hill fort location, a nearby watchtower with smoke signals, and another unaffiliated bandit camp near two hills
• Wolfer also mentioned a dozen gnomes traveling upriver along the Skunk River
• Released Wolfer north with a warning; looted pelts, bows, and gear

Securing Otto’s Post and Rewards

• Returned to Otto; Lana set heads on stakes as a warning
• Otto paid fairly for pelts and gear and granted two healing tinctures
• Rumors surfaced of a red dragon in the southern hills and Tartuscio still at large
• Brief rest and modest carousing

Keston’s Arrival and Next Steps

• Keston, a noble in plate, arrived with three soldiers to garrison the post
• Burke learned of Keston’s scandal and exile; he refused to march on the Stag Lord yet
• Decision point: with Otto safer and the Stag Lord’s fort located, plan a strike while watching for Tartuscio and weighing dragon rumors

NPCs:

• Keston Garrus: A sullen noble in plate sent to garrison Otto’s post with three soldiers. Haunted by a scandal with a weaver’s daughter, determined to hold the fort rather than ride out—at least for now.
• Lady Kremenko: A canny Tarkan noblewoman issuing charters to tame and claim the Swordlands. Not a queen, but acting like a power who intends to make one.
• Lana: Otto’s capable wife, keen with goats, chickens, and a sharpening stake. Quick to feed travelers and quicker to harden the gate when trouble nears.
• Otto: Gruff, practical keeper of the northern trade post, more comfortable with an axe and a ledger than politics. Protective of Lana and the home they built with their hands.
• Tartuscio: A gnomish wizard-assassin tied to Pitax, spectacles and sharpened goatee masking a venomous will. Fled into the Swordlands after an attempt on Lady Kremenko’s life.
• The Stag Lord: A bandit chieftain consolidating power across the Swordlands. Claims dominion he hasn’t yet fully earned, but commands enough blades to be dangerous.
• Wolfer: A nervous bandit who watched Otto’s post for the Stag Lord. Spared after giving up the fort’s location and other camps, he vowed to head north and vanish.

ITEMS:

• Chain Blade (Kusarigama): Tithro’s whirling chain-and-sickle weapon that bites near and snaps far.
• Healing Tincture: A bitter, potent salve from Otto’s stores, pressed on the party in thanks and to keep them breathing.
• Lady Kremenko’s Banner: A field sign carried on the road, its heraldry not always left unaltered by certain artists in the party.
• Lantern and Oil: Fresh light for darker paths ahead, purchased at Otto’s modest shop.
• Leather Armor: Worn but serviceable bandit leathers, traded off at Otto’s counter.
• Pelts and Furs: A neat stack of fox, ermine, and other small-game skins taken from the bandit camp, sold for decent coin.
• Shortbows and Quivers: Light bows and spare arrows claimed from the bandit watchers’ cache.

LOCATIONS:

• Bandit Camp by the Twin Hills: A small unaffiliated crew’s hideout tucked between a pair of low hills, used for ambushing and trade.
• Otto’s Trade Post: A small, stout palisade with pens, a trade room, and little else—a fragile foothold of order at the Swordlands’ edge.
• Stag Lord’s Fort: An old hill-fort with a nearby watchtower and smoke signals, set among the northern rises south of Otto’s post.
• The Lonesome Road: A lonely northern track into the Swordlands, peopled by hunters, caravans, and those who keep their eyes down.
• The Skunk River: A cold ribbon of water running near the post; a dozen gnomes were said to have headed upriver hauling gear.
• The Swordlands: A rough borderland south of Tarka—hills, forest, and rumor-laden wilds where bandits, beasts, and worse stake their claims.

FACTIONS:

• Baron Drevlev’s Claim: Another sanctioned bid to settle a southeastern slice of the Swordlands.
• Iron Wraiths: Helmed mercenary-soldiers granted a charter; disciplined, faceless, and heavily armored.
• Pitax: A rival kingdom whose hands are not clean—Tartuscio’s tie speaks volumes.
• Tarka (Kremenko’s Circle): The settled northern realm backing charters to explore and tame the Swordlands.

QUESTS:

• Dismantle the Stag Lord’s Network: Break the bands under his sway, starting with nearby camps and culminating at his fort.
• Explore and Establish a Foothold in the Swordlands: Answer Lady Kremenko’s charter, map threats and opportunities, and help anchor order in the region.
• Follow the Gnome Prospectors Upriver: Look into the dozen gnomes seen heading up the Skunk River with tools and mules.
• Investigate Southern Dragon Rumors: Verify reports of a red dragon in the distant southern mountains before it finds you first.
• Locate the Stag Lord’s Fort: Find where the Stag Lord truly holds court among the hills.
• Protect Otto’s Trade Post from Bandit Pressure: Deter the Stag Lord’s advances on the post and keep the roadhead open for settlers and trade.
• Track Tartuscio the Gnome Assassin: Hunt down the gnomish wizard who fled into the Swordlands after attempting to kill Lady Kremenko.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A shabti kineticist devoted to Eero the Teamaker, all stern discipline and geometric wrath. He purifies self and world alike with fractal force, preferring clean solutions delivered at range. His dry edge and finger-gun precision make mockery and annihilation equally likely outcomes for his foes.
• Burke: A sickly, arresting human bard whose charisma is sharpened by a lifetime in the shadows as a former fence. He plays percussive, found-sound rhythms with a crowbar and a grin, and prefers wit and words to steel until it’s time to land the decisive command. Despite frailty, he steps forward when it matters.
• Hapii (“Happy”): A changeling battlefield scrounger with mismatched eyes and a survivor’s instincts. Thrown into the world young, they move light and quiet, leaning on fey-touched tricks and a silver sickle when ambush is the better part of valor. Adopted in the city but forever drawn back to the margins, they read the wild like a ledger.
• Tacho: An immensely strong hunter-brute who lives by the axe and the bow and views boundaries as suggestions. He is at home in the brush, tracking and dressing game—or poaching when necessary—and meets danger with simple, direct ferocity. His toughness wavers only when steel bites deep, as it did under the orc captain’s blade.
• Tithro: An android fighter in chain, built for battle and fitted with a deadly chain blade that whistles through the air. He speaks plainly, fights boldly, and lets the kusarigama do most of the talking. There is purpose in his motions, even when his logic seems oddly literal.