Kingmaker: Ep. 9 – Gongaii

The company left Fort Owlbear for Labrod, answering the headman’s wave at the town’s edge. River trade was choking again, this time not from bandits but from a fey tangle: a blue‑skinned nymph named Melana had charmed two loggers and halted the crews who had been selectively cutting the richest, fey‑touched hardwoods along the river. At the pond, the foreman bristled that no decent man could make a living with fairies dogging his heels; Melana’s voice chimed from mid‑water, not a thing, and several in the party felt that whispering hook sink behind their ribs. Rather than escalate, Yohei addressed her in Sylvan and drew a condition: restore her favorite oaks, and the men would be freed.

Unsure they could make trees out of air, the company followed her hint to Tracia, a flower‑crowned dryad in a sunlit grove. Tracia revealed a deeper wound. A scythe tree, maddened by the taste of satyr blood, was stalking the wood. She offered a leaf‑pin and a blossom as favors, and pressed a handful of acorns into Junie’s hands, but asked that they fell the predator before it grew bolder. With dusk thickening, they reached a blackened clearing where dead oaks ringed a shadowed heart—and then the earth heaved.

Roots tore free, and a towering trunk split vertically to a toothed maw. Its long boughs ended in razor curves that sliced the air. The tree rasped in Sylvan, you will be delicious, and crashed into them. Yohei went down in a single brutal sweep; Junie hauled him back with a vial, and the lantern light wavered as Ashla and EW waded in, mace and blade clubbing bark and chewing fibers. Izzy called blessings as Tacho stormed forward, bellowing for Melana with a battleaxe and a blood‑splattered bouquet, only to be scythed to the ground and gasp back to his feet.

Grungo set his jaw by the light, kissed flame to a quarrel, and shot as the maw opened to gloat. The bolt vanished down the throat, and fire bloomed from within. The scythe tree erupted in a blast of flaming splinters, showering the clearing with ember and red sap. In the tangled roots, they found coins and a silver ring; Ashla cleansed the soil. They retreated to Tracia’s grove, where a satyr named Falco bounded from the trees, and a safe camp blossomed from mushrooms, berries, and a jug of wine. At dawn, Tracia breathed an enchantment into Junie’s acorns.

Back at the pond, Junie pressed five acorns into the scarred ground. Each sprouted and surged in a heartbeat into a towering old‑growth oak, moss‑heavy and heaven‑reaching. Melana laughed and slipped beneath the surface; the two loggers shuddered free of her charm. The foreman agreed to shift his operation away from the glade. In Labrod, the headman made good on a trade: coin in hand and crews pledged to help rebuild Fort Owlbear’s ruined watchtower. One enchanted acorn remained, earmarked to raise a great oak for a future waypost. With the river’s mischief eased and a new outpost on the horizon, the company turned to the looming task in the northwest: the boggards’ swamp.

OUTLINE:

March to LeBraad and the River’s Complaint

• Party departed Fort Owlbear and reached LeBraad.
• Headman reported a river nymph had charmed two loggers at a pond and stalled operations.
• At the pond, Melana denied being a “thing,” the log boss bristled, and some PCs felt her charm.
• Yohei parleyed in Sylvan; Melana agreed to release the men if her favorite oaks were restored.

Seeking the Dryad’s Help

• The party tracked down Tracia in a sun‑dappled grove.
• Tracia revealed a bigger threat: a scythe tree hunting fey.
• She granted small woodland favors and entrusted Junie with six acorns.
• She asked the party to destroy the scythe tree before it killed again.

Battle in the Blighted Clearing

• At dusk, the scythe tree uprooted and attacked with a gaping maw and scything branches.
• Yohei fell and was revived by Junie; Ashla and EW battered the trunk; Izzy blessed allies.
• Tacho charged for Melana, was cut down, then staggered back up.
• Grungo fired a flaming shot into the maw; the tree exploded into burning splinters.
• They gathered coins and a silver ring and Izzy sanctified the tainted ground.

Rest with Tracia, Then Replanting the Oaks

• They camped safely in Tracia’s grove; a satyr named Falco appeared with wine.
• At dawn, Tracia enchanted Junie’s acorns.
• Back at the pond, Junie planted five acorns that instantly grew into towering oaks.
• Melana laughed and released the charmed loggers; the foreman agreed to relocate his crews.

Payment, Plans, and What’s Next

• In LeBraad, the headman paid the company and promised labor to rebuild Fort Owlbear’s watchtower.
• One enchanted acorn was saved to raise a new treehouse outpost.
• The company prepared for the next task: dealing with the boggards in the northwest swamps.

NPCs:

• Abel: Innkeeper of Abel’s Inn in LeBraad. Offers beds and a quiet corner when the roads turn rough.
• Corax: LeBraad’s logging foreman, a hard man with harder choices. He agreed to move operations away from Melana’s glade and send hands to rebuild the watchtower.
• Falco: A satyr with a jug and a glint in his eye who haunts Tracia’s grove. Happy to share wine and watch heroes do the dangerous parts.
• Headman of LeBraad: A tall, scruffy bowman who runs the logging town with a pragmatist’s eye. Quick to ask for help and quicker to pay fairly when it’s done.
• Lady Kremenko: The party’s northern patron, eager to open the Stolen Lands to trade from Tarka. She rewards practical progress that keeps the river lanes flowing.
• Melana: A river nymph of blue skin and lily‑spread hair who guards her pond and its blooming margins. Quick to charm and quicker to vanish beneath the ripples.
• Priestess of Yamath (LeBraad): Keeper of the town’s shrine and a steady friend to the party. She watches travelers with a keen eye for the divine’s mark.
• Tracia: A flower‑crowned dryad bound to a vast oak grove. Gracious with favors but unflinching when the forest needs hard work done.

ITEMS:

• Bouquet for Melana: A lovingly gathered spray of out‑of‑season blooms offered to the nymph at her pond.
• Enchanted Acorns: Six acorns gifted by Tracia; five planted sprang instantly into towering oaks, and one remains to seed a new outpost.
• Falco’s Jug of Wine: A satyr’s loaned jug that warmed a night’s camp and stories beneath the oak boughs.
• Orchid Favor: A blossom from Tracia’s hair, worn as a pin and humming with woodland grace.
• Silver Ring: A simple ring recovered from the scythe tree’s root‑tangle, tarnished by sap and time.
• Tracia’s Oakleaf Favor: A leaf‑pin bestowed for the battle that briefly strengthened its bearer at the critical moment.

LOCATIONS:

• Abel’s Inn: A reliable roof and hearth for travelers passing through LeBraad.
• Fort Owlbear: The reclaimed bandit fort the company now calls home. Its ruined watchtower is slated for repair by LeBraad’s crews.
• Fort Owlbear Watchtower: The burned‑out tower overlooking the ravine, now slated for repair by a logging crew.
• Junie’s Treehouse (Planned): A future great‑oak outpost to be raised from an enchanted acorn and tended as a woodland waypoint.
• LeBraad: A forest town of seven hundred with a fortified temple, Abel’s Inn, and the Tazzleworm Tavern. A hub for logging and trade along the river.
• Melana’s Pond: A flower‑ringed pool where spring blooms in autumn and a river nymph holds court.
• Northwestern Swamps: Bog‑choked fens where the boggards harry traffic and wait for reckoning.
• Otto’s Trading Post: The party’s original base on the northern road, where supplies and gossip change hands.
• Scythe Tree Clearing: A reeking, blighted ring of dead oaks where the scythe tree hunted before it exploded into splinters.
• Shrine to Yamath (LeBraad): A sturdy shrine at the town’s heart where the priestess keeps the god’s eye on the road south.
• Tazzleworm Tavern: LeBraad’s rowdy watering hole where rumors and plans flow as freely as ale.
• Tracia’s Grove: A sun‑dappled glade at the roots of an enormous oak where berries and mushrooms blossom at a word.

FACTIONS:

• Boggard Tribes of the Northwest: Toad‑folk who have menaced river traffic and trade for months from their swampy strongholds.
• Faith of Yamath: A practical country worship that watches over roads, rivers, and honest work.
• Fey of the Greenbelt: Dryads, nymphs, and satyrs who guard groves, ponds, and secrets with whimsy and sharp edges.
• Lady Kremenko’s Trade House: Merchants and agents out of Tarka who back the party’s push to open routes south.
• LeBraad Loggers: Crews who harvest timber for coin and now steer clear of fey‑touched groves after a hard lesson.

QUESTS:

• Fangberry Cultivation and Trade: Establish and maintain patches of fangberries to support healing and commerce.
• Neutralize the Boggards of the Northwestern Swamp: Deal with the boggards who have strangled river traffic and threatened trade.
• Quell the Nymph–Logger Feud at the Pond: Resolve Melana’s grievances and free the charmed loggers without bloodshed.
• Raise a Woodland Outpost: Plant the final enchanted acorn to grow a great oak for a new treehouse waystation.
• Rebuild Fort Owlbear’s Watchtower: Use LeBraad’s offered labor to restore the burned tower overlooking the ravine.
• Slay the Scythe Tree: Hunt down and destroy the fey‑eating tree that stalked Tracia’s woods.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Ashla: An Aasimar fighter and former guard who once refused to slaughter centaurs. She carries a mace and a conscience and tends to stand between tempers and trouble. At the pond she pushed for peace, then waded into the scythe tree’s reach to batter it down.
• EW (Eternal Warrior): A Tengu fighter with a lifelong grudge against spellcasters after a curse twisted him into a bird‑man. He keeps a ledger of mages to investigate or worse, and meets threats head‑on with practiced steel. In the clearing he hacked deep into the scythe tree’s trunk and helped break its murderous momentum.
• Grungo Kaa: A Tengu robber with standards—never from those who cannot afford the loss—and an opportunist’s eye for the shiniest take. He favors the crossbow and a quick plan over lengthy speech. His flaming shot into the monster’s maw ended the scythe tree in an explosion of fire and splinters.
• Izzy: An Oread whose stony calm and iron faith anchor the company. Reliable to a fault, he blesses allies and cleanses tainted places, then shrugs off thanks as though it were dust. After the battle he consecrated the blighted ground and helped keep everyone breathing when things turned grim.
• Junie: An Ifrit alchemist and woodcutter in flannel and ash who dreams of a humble shack stocked with practical oils. She keeps the party moving with quick‑thinking concoctions and a steady lantern hand. She planted Tracia’s enchanted acorns to regrow Melana’s grove and saved one to raise a future treehouse outpost.
• Tacho: A burly human fighter whose bravado outstrips the scars he keeps collecting. He threw himself into danger for the nymph with a battle cry and an ill‑fated bouquet, and still found the strength to stagger back to his feet. He measures victory in raw courage and broken threats.
• Yohei: A Kitsune gunslinger who meets danger with a fox’s charm and a steady aim. He speaks Sylvan fluently and often tries to win through words before steel, though he hides sharper edges beneath the smile. In the scythe tree fight he fell and rose again, then steered the group toward deals that spared needless bloodshed.