Kingmaker: Ep. 11 – Gongaii

The company left Fort Owlbear into blustery cold, clouds piling over the distant passes. They made for the boglands, choosing to skirt the woods for better sightlines, and stopped at the Temple of Yamath. The lone caretaker toiled around an impossible pool that fed itself and blossomed out-of-season flowers. They prayed, made offerings, and heard his warnings: hobgoblin sign in the trees, shattered trunks, and something big moving in the wild. He offered healing and a fire if they needed it.

On the forest’s edge the grasses sang with a relentless buzz. A cloud of insects boiled as four giant dragonflies arrowed in, wings flashing blue and violet. Ashla stepped forward to pacify them and caught a catastrophic bite that smeared the reeds red. Yohei dashed in with a salve and dragged her back from darkness. Izzy blacked out one dragonfly’s compound eyes and forced it to wobble; Kreegra’s revenant-gifted harpoon snagged another and hauled it close for a strike. Then a blinded brute seized Ashla and surged skyward. Izzy blinded that one too. It slammed into the earth with such force its wings folded like paper, and the survivors veered off. The group hauled back to Yamath’s temple to rest and earned another nod from the old priest.

They returned the next day, passed a gaping barrow they marked for later, and reached the boggard village—charred huts, piles of bones, ladders of roots and femurs dropping into the mud-dark below. In the first chamber, a skull-lashed throne waited. When Ashla sat, a cool breath lifted the hairs on her neck from nowhere at all. Leather curtains led from room to room: barracks lined with sodden mats, training dummies dressed in dragonfly chitin, a larder of dead insects, a looted storeroom littered with black pearls and scattered silver. A flooded passage tempted only a fool. Kreegra grinned, dove beneath a tight, silt-choked lip, and surfaced in a hidden pantry, collecting three gourds of iridescent blue paste before wrestling back through the choke point.

The ground began to thud. Above them, something heavy circled, gronking with a bass bellow. The party climbed up at a quieter ladder and saw it: a three-eyed, tendril-armed froghemoth charging after a boggard handler, who was flinging a meat-on-a-stick to steer it. Ashla blitzed the handler and nearly took his hand off. That moment of chaos turned on them. The froghemoth snapped the boggard’s head off with a single gulp, then slammed Ashla with its tendrils. Yohei sprinted to scoop the bait and hurled it wide; Izzy darkened all three of the titan’s eyes. Blind and enraged, the froghemoth thrashed, tongue tasting the air, but couldn’t find a target. With a final roar, it pivoted and crashed into the river, disappearing beneath the brown water.

Back in Labrod, the wizard-librarian Enfaun examined the three gourds and declared them blue dragonfly poison, a boggard brew that sows delirium when swallowed. She eyed the party’s salvaged wings and said a cloak might be possible with more trophies and a skilled hand. The company divided pearls and silver, stowed the wings at Fort Owlbear, and weighed unfinished business: the barrow’s dark promise, a ravaged bog to scour, and word that the centaurs would not be ignored much longer.

OUTLINE:

Departing Fort Owlbear and the Temple of Yamath

Set out from Fort Owlbear in cold, windy weather toward the boglands
Visited the Temple of Yamath; offered coin and received the priest’s hospitality
Heard warnings of hobgoblin activity, shattered trees, and something large in the forest
Left with an open invitation to rest and heal if needed

Ambushed by Giant Dragonflies and Hard-Won Retreat

Approached the forest edge as a heavy buzz filled the air
Four giant dragonflies attacked; Ashla stepped up and was badly mauled
Yohei administered a lifesaving salve; Izzy blinded one dragonfly
Kreegra harpooned another; a blinded dragonfly tried to carry Ashla away
Izzy blinded the carrier; it crashed, and the remaining insects fled
Party fell back to the Temple of Yamath to recover overnight

Descent into the Boggard Warrens

Returned to find the boggard village burned, with bone-and-root ladders leading underground
Entered a skull-throned chamber; Ashla sat and felt an inexplicable breeze on her neck
Explored barracks, training dummies clad in dragonfly chitin, and a larder of dead insects
Found a looted storeroom; recovered black pearls and scattered silver
Kreegra swam a tight underwater passage to a hidden cache and retrieved three gourds of blue paste

The Froghemoth Above

Felt the ground shake and heard thunderous gronking overhead
Surfaced to see a boggard handler baiting a colossal froghemoth with meat-on-a-stick
Ashla cut down the handler; the froghemoth devoured him and hammered Ashla
Yohei seized the bait and hurled it away; Izzy blinded the beast
Blind and raging, the froghemoth thrashed, then plunged into the river and vanished

Back to LeBroad and Next Steps

Consulted Enfon, the wizard-librarian; gourds identified as blue dragonfly poison (ingested)
Learned dragonfly wings could be crafted into a cloak with more material and a skilled crafter
Stowed loot and weighed options: explore the barrow, pursue the boggards, or seek the centaurs next

NPCs:

Boggard Handler: A mud-slick toadfolk who tried to steer a titan with meat-on-a-stick. Ashla’s blade maimed him; the froghemoth did the rest.
Enfon, Wizard-Librarian of LeBroad: A poised half-elf who keeps the town’s lore and a quiet store of hedge-wizardry. Enfon identifies oddments without fuss and knows who might craft the impossible—given the right materials.
Froghemoth: A three-eyed, tendril-armed monstrosity of the bog, all jaws, tongue, and rage. Blindness drove it off, not down.
Priest of Yamath: The solitary caretaker of the spring-fed temple, tireless in tending stone, flower, and pool. He accepts offerings, offers rest and healing, and asks only for truly devout help to rebuild.

ITEMS:

Black Pearls: Five dark-luster pearls pried from the mud of a looted shelf. Portable wealth with a whisper of old water on them.
Blue Dragonfly Poison Gourds: Three stoppered gourds of iridescent paste brewed by boggards. Swallowed, it scrambles the mind and sows confusion.
Giant Dragonfly Wings: Two great iridescent panels of chitin and membrane, harvested from a fallen behemoth. With more, a craftsperson might fashion a dragonfly cloak.
Healing Tinctures: Hard-won salves and tonics traded or brewed on the road. A precious stopgap between life and the long sleep.
Meat-on-a-Stick Lure: A boggard’s crude but effective lure for a giant hungry beast. Dangerous bait in the wrong clearing.
River Revenant’s Harpoon: A chain-linked harpoon gifted from a restless spirit of the water. It bites deep and drags quarry within reach of grim justice.

LOCATIONS:

Boggard Village Ruins: Burned huts, bone ladders, and a toppled multi-eyed frog idol at the edge of the bog. Everything above is ash; everything below still whispers.
Boggard Warrens: Leather-draped passages and root-tangled chambers beneath the swamp: barracks, larder, throne, and hidden, flooded ways.
Fort Owlbear: The party’s hard-won stronghold on the frontier, a base to stage deeper pushes into the Swordlands. Its walls hold trophies and plans in equal measure.
LeBroad: A busy river town with a rebuilt ferry and a long memory. Kreegra’s welcome changes with the day, but knowledge and trade flow here.
Temple of Yamath: A shrine built around a shallow, ever-flowing pool ringed by out-of-season wildflowers. A place of rest, warning, and quiet miracles.
The Barrow Mound: A dark, open tumulus the party marked but did not enter—yet. Its mouth waits like a held breath.

FACTIONS:

Boggard Tribe: Toadfolk of the bog who hunt with poison and pray to many-eyed things. Their village is ash, but their shadow still lies across the marsh.
Followers of Tithagawa: Whispering devotees of a deep, tentacled power. Useful in a crisis, perilous to court, and never entirely silent.
Temple of Yamath Faithful: Worshippers of the far-wandering old god of stone and stream. Few in number, steadfast in duty, and slow to bend.
Townsfolk of LeBroad: River traders and ferrymen who balance gratitude and suspicion in equal measure. They rely on knowledge, coin, and a careful read of strangers.

QUESTS:

Aid the Temple of Yamath: Send truly devout hands to help the lone caretaker restore the shrine and keep the wilds at bay.
Deal with the Centaurs: Meet or confront the centaurs whose business is coming due on the nearby plains.
Dragonfly Cloak Project: Gather more giant dragonfly wings and find a capable crafter to fashion them into something that flies.
Hunt the Boggards: Track the boggards’ remnants, explore their warrens, and secure the bog’s edge against what they left behind.
Identify the Blue Paste: Learn the nature of the shimmering paste recovered from the boggard cache.
The Barrow’s Secret: Investigate the open tumulus near the bog and plumb whatever waits beneath its earthen lid.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

Ashla: A stalwart human fighter with a guard’s bearing and a stubborn streak. Ashla steps first into danger, whether facing down dragonflies the size of horses or a throne woven from skulls. She swaps bow and mace as the field demands and refuses to leave anyone behind, no matter the cost.
Izzy: An oread whose stone-steady faith wields shadow and sanctity with equal calm. Izzy is the party’s healer and ward against the unknown, unflinching before strange gods and stranger beasts. His magic blinds foes, blesses allies, and sometimes courts the attention of powers best left sleeping.
Kreegra: A hobgoblin slayer bearing a revenant’s chain-harpoon and a reputation that makes towns waver between thanks and stocks. Kreegra fights with a veteran’s economy, dragging foes into reach or diving where others won’t. He swims through silt or steel the same way—head-on and grinning.
Yohei: A quick-witted kitsune gunslinger who prefers smart risks to loud heroics. Yohei keeps his cool under pressure, reloading as fast as he thinks and never far from the exit. When it counts, he steps in—whether to yank a friend back from death or to bait a monster away with a well-placed throw.