Kingmaker: Ep. 3 – Gongaii

Dawn at Otto’s Trade Fort broke with a desperate warning: a fevered centaur staggered to the palisade, gasped “Risen from black waters”, and collapsed. Guided by Lana’s directions, the party set out and found an oval pond that hadn’t existed a month prior. In its center rose a cyclopean arch and a collapsed stone dome, reachable only by slick stepping stones spiraling across the brackish water. Harpies nested atop the broken walls, their song drifting down as they jealously watched their nests. After a tense exchange—one harpy even crowed that the halfling was delicious—the group slipped past into the ruin.

Within, uneven stairs sank into old bones and mud. Toad‑folk with throat sacks and flint spears lunged from the shadows. The Nameless carved one down in a blind swing; Yohei’s pistol thundered; Adder’s fractal bolt erased another. One wore a silver torque etched with a single staring eye, and when Yohei fed a dying soul to his grim lantern, its sockets flared with cold blue light.

Statues of one‑eyed giants guarded a brass door carved with Cyclops devouring fleeing humans. Beyond, a chamber stared back: hundreds of stone eyes embedded in the walls that tore free as swarms. Ashla’s halo lit the fight as Felipe’s alchemical flash burst blinded foes, then Yohei’s lantern exhaled ghost‑fire, and the swarms shattered, scattering opal pupils.

A long hall lined with trident‑bearing Cyclops statues held plinths of offerings: a thumb‑sized opal, an obsidian eye pendant, a bronze knife, and a silver bowl stained dark. Past a final door, a white‑eyed zombie Cyclops muttered at a floating obsidian orb. Steel and sanctity bit; holy water drove it back; Adder’s bolt struck the orb and it burst. The Cyclops blinked out—and the dungeon dropped.

Black water fountained from pinprick holes as doors slammed and tridents lowered. In a harrowing escape through rising flood and buckling doors, Izzy spoke a forbidden name to open one seal, losing his priestly powers, and Ashla saved The Nameless from drowning as harpies circled above. When the waters cleared, the centaur’s strength returned—the source of the blight undone—and the ruin sank back beneath the pond, leaving hard-won trophies and new questions in its wake.

OUTLINE:

Warning at Otto’s and the Newborn Pond

• At Otto’s Trade Fort, a fevered centaur arrived and gasped risen from black waters before collapsing.
• Lana directed the party toward centaur lands; after days of travel they found an oval pond and a cyclopean islet ruin reached by spiral stones.
• Harpies nesting in the broken dome parleyed; they warned the party off and bragged of eating a halfling; the group advanced inside without a fight.

Bone Camp Ambush and the Stolen Soul

• In a mud-and-bone chamber, toad‑folk attacked with tongues and flint spears; one wore a silver eye‑torque.
• The Nameless cut foes down; Adder’s fractal blast erased another; Yohei shot one point‑blank.
• Yohei used the grim lantern to draw a soul, lighting it with blue fire.

Eyes That Swarm and Opal Pupils

• A chamber lined with embedded stone eyes animated; swarms of fist‑sized eyes attacked.
• Ashla’s halo illuminated the fight; Yohei exhaled ghost‑fire from the lantern; Felipe’s alchemy blinded and burned the swarm; the party smashed them.
• Opal pupil fragments were collected from the shattered eyes.

Hall of Tridents, Whispering Relics, and the Orb’s Guardian

• A long hall of Cyclops statues and plinths yielded treasure: a thumb‑sized opal, an obsidian eye pendant that whispered, a rune‑etched bronze knife, and a dark‑stained silver bowl.
• Beyond, a white‑eyed zombie Cyclops chanted before a floating obsidian orb; sanctified steel and holy water hurt it.
• Adder’s bolt struck the orb; it exploded and the Cyclops winked out.

Flood, Forbidden Name, and Escape

• Pinholes in walls and ceiling gushed black water as doors slammed and tridents lowered.
• The party battered and levered doors; Izzy invoked a forbidden name to open one seal, losing his priestly blessings.
• Water rose dangerously; Ashla hauled The Nameless from drowning; harpies circled but did not attack.
• The ruin sank; the pond cleared; word came that the centaurs’ sickness lifted.

NPCs:

• Harpy Matron: Sharp‑tongued leader of the harpies nesting atop the ruin. Protective of her brood and openly disdainful of centaurs and travelers alike.
• Keston: A no‑nonsense guard on Otto’s palisade who rang the bell when the centaur arrived.
• Lady Kravmenko: A Tarkan noble who dispatched the party to explore and settle the Swordlands in her name.
• Lana: Otto’s capable wife who fed the company and translated the centaur’s plea, pointing the way to the new pond.
• Otto: Keeper of the northern trade fort, practical and fair‑dealing, allied with Lady Kravmenko and eager to see the Swordlands civilized.
• Sickly Centaur Messenger: A plains centaur who staggered to the fort and warned of something risen from black waters; later recovered once the source was destroyed.
• Toad‑Folk Raiders: Warty, spear‑bearing amphibians with fat throat sacks; one wore a silver torque engraved with a staring eye and claimed the centaurs deserved their fate.
• White‑Eyed Zombie Cyclops: An undead giant carved with bleeding sigils who muttered to an obsidian orb before being banished when the orb was shattered.

ITEMS:

• Grim Lantern: A lantern fashioned from a shrunken head inscribed with blasphemous prayers. It can drink a dying soul to burn with blue light and exhale ghost‑fire when commanded.
• Obsidian Eye Pendant: A dark pendant cut like an unblinking eye. It whispered as it was lifted and feels valuable and unwholesome.
• Opal Pupil Fragments: Shards gathered from shattered stone eyes; each tiny piece gleams with pearly fire.
• Rune‑Etched Bronze Knife: A keen ritual blade etched in unknown script; doubly useful against the restless dead.
• Silver Eye‑Torque of Tathagwa: A heavy silver torque engraved with a staring eye and profane sigils. Wearing it invites an obscene, hungry presence.
• Silver Offering Bowl: A shallow silver dish stained dark by old rites; it feels at home atop a plinth—now it rides in a pack.
• Thumb‑Sized Opal: A richly colored opal pried from a plinth, bright enough to finance a season’s supplies.

LOCATIONS:

• Bone‑Strewn Antechamber: Mud, bones, and a toad‑folk camp where the silver eye‑torque was won.
• Chamber of Stone Eyes: Walls embedded with hundreds of staring stone eyes that tore free to swarm; their pupils were opal shards.
• Cyclopean Arch and Islet Ruin: A collapsed stone dome under a scarlet‑tiled arch, its stones veined black and its heights claimed by harpies.
• Hall of Cyclops Statues: Stone giants bearing great tridents, their arms able to pivot and their hall riddled with pin‑prick holes.
• Orb Sanctum: Final chamber where a floating obsidian orb hung and a white‑eyed Cyclops chanted; destroying the orb collapsed the complex.
• Otto’s Trade Fort: A sturdy palisade outpost and the northernmost point of local civilization. Breakfast, gear, and gossip flow here.
• Sigil Corridor: Brass doors carved with Cyclops devouring humans and walls scored with unknown script.
• Swordlands: A lawless frontier of ruins and bandits where Lady Kravmenko seeks a foothold.
• The Spiral Pond: A brackish oval pool that appeared within the month, with slick stepping stones spiraling to an islet and ruin.
• Trident Hall of Offerings: A long aisle of statues and plinths bearing a fat opal, an obsidian eye pendant, a rune‑etched knife, and a dark‑stained bowl.

FACTIONS:

• Ancient Cyclops Cult of the Eye: Long‑dead makers of the ruin whose imagery and sigils honor a single staring eye and something beneath.
• Harpies of the Arch: A flock of sharp‑eyed, sharp‑tongued harpies brooding in the cyclopean ruin’s heights.
• House Kravmenko: A Tarkan noble house extending its reach into the Swordlands via settlers and strongholds.
• Plains Centaur Herds: Proud nomads of the grasslands who were struck by a mysterious blight from the pond.
• The Stag Lord’s Bandits: A ruthless bandit confederacy holding a southern fort and preying on the road.
• Toad‑Folk of the Black Waters: Amphibious raiders haunting the mud chambers below, hostile to centaurs and men alike.

QUESTS:

• Break the Stag Lord: Locate the Stag Lord’s fort and end his bandits’ hold over the region.
• Cure the Centaurs’ Black‑Water Blight: Find and end the source of the sickness afflicting the centaurs near the newborn pond.
• Explore the Cyclopean Ruin: Enter the new‑risen ruin, learn its secret, and survive whatever waits below.
• Investigate the Haunted Ferry: Rumors name a washed‑out ferry crossing gone wrong and a haunting that blocks trade to the south.
• Settle the Swordlands for Lady Kravmenko: Establish a secure foothold in the Swordlands, explore its ruins, and push back bandits and monsters.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A shabti kineticist who hurls razor‑clean fractal energies like lances of law. Adder is calm, clinical, and a little cruel, more than willing to solve problems with a single precise bolt. When he gathers power the air hums and reality seems to tessellate around him.
• Ashla: An Aasimar fighter and former guard whose halo can turn night to noon. Ashla keeps her shield high and her feet sure, dragging comrades from the drink as readily as she smashes undead and swarms. She wears duty like armor and stands tall even when madness nips at the edges.
• Felipe: A masked alchemist with a gaudy, gold Phantom of the Opera mask and a nose for dangerous concoctions. Felipe’s curiosity runs to grave dust and stranger reagents, and when the pressure mounts he answers with glass, spark, and smoke. Beneath the bravado he is quick-thinking and reckless enough to hurl light and flame in tight quarters.
• Izzy: A stone‑skinned priest of the earth, steady‑handed and stubborn. Izzy blesses steel with crusted stone and drives back undead with holy waters, but in a moment of crisis dared a forbidden name to save the party, and felt his god turn away. He now bears the cost of that choice.
• The Nameless: A half‑orc fighter raised by a mute shepherd, answering to grunts and Hey, you. The Nameless leads from the front with a brutal longsword and a workman’s grit. He has a knack for surviving the worst—blind swings in the dark and, thanks to Ashla, drowning most of all.
• Yohei: A kitsune gunslinger with a sly smirk, a taste for gossip, and a grim lantern that drinks souls. Yohei’s holdout pistol speaks louder than most men, and when he whispers to the lantern, blue light pours from its eye sockets in a cone of ghost‑flame. Charming, connected, and dangerous.