alongChult’snortheastcoast, 70 milesnorthofKitcher’sInlet.
It’simpossibleforthegiantstohidethevessel;anyonesailing
downthecoastcan’tmissit.
TheHvalspydsailedsouthfromtheSeaofMovingIcewith
acrewoftwentyfrostgiants.Threefrostgiantsremain
aboardtheship—twostandguardwhilethethirdrests.Two
morefrostgiantswatchtheseafromthebeach.Theother
fifteengiantshavesplitintofivesearchpartiesofthreegiants
each,andaresearchingthejungleforArtusCimberandthe
RingofWinter.OneofthefrostgianthuntersistheHvalspyd’s
captain,Drufi(NEfemalefrostgiant).
Atthebehestofherlord,JarlStorvald,Drufiledthis
expeditiontoretrievethering.Storvaldwantsitforreasons
explainedintheadventureStormKing’sThunder.Hebelieves
thatwiththeRingofWinter,hecanfreezetheworldandbring
abouttheAgeofEverlastingIce—awonderfuldreamthat
keepsDrufifocusedonthetaskathand.Thegiantsknow
nothingofAcererak,theSoulmonger,orthedeathcurse.
Thefrostgiantsareoutoftheirelementintropicaljungle.
Theyregarditastheworstkindofhellimaginable.Theyhave
nointention,however,offailingtheirjarlandlettingtheRing
ofWinterslipthroughtheirgrasp.
FrostGiantSearchParties
Drufi’ssearchpartyincludestwomalefrostgiantsandapair
ofwinterwolves.Eachoftheotherfoursearchparties
consistsofthreefrostgiantsand 1 d 2 winterwolves.The
frostgiantscan’tmovethroughthejunglewithoutleavinga
trail.Ifcharactersencountergiants,they’relikelytosee
evidencehoursordaysbeforetheactualmeeting:trampled
brush,brokenoruprootedtrees,giganticbootprints, 3 - foot-
highrunictrailmarkingscarvedintotreesoretchedonto
boulders,andwinterwolfdroppings.Chulthasmanygigantic
carnivores,soasuccessfulDC 10 Wisdom(Survival)checkis
neededtoidentifytheseindicatorsasforeigntothejungle;if
thechecksucceedsby 5 ormore,thesourceisrecognizedas
frostgiants.AChultanguidehasadvantageonthischeckbut
won’tmaketheleaptofrostgiants.Thatideaisjusttoofar-
fetched.
Sofar,thegiants’searchinghasroamedfromthecoastto
theRiverTiryki,andfromtheruinsofPortCastigliartothe
northeasternmountains.DrufihasseenFortBeluarianfroma
distanceandPortNyanzarufromacrossthemouthofthe
RiverTiryki,butthegiantsavoidFlamingFistpatrols.For
theirpart,themercenariesandscoutsfromtheforthaveseen
manypuzzlingsignsinthejungletothesouth,buttheyhaven’t
yet
concluded
they’re
dealingwith
frostgiants.
Thegiants’
nextstepwill
betopush
farthersouth.
Atsome
point
(determined
byyou),
they’llreturn
tothe
Hvalspyd,
sailsouthto
RefugeBay,
andstartthe
searchafreshfromthere.Obviously,thisisaveryinefficient
waytosearchanareaaslargeandasdenseasChult,butDrufi
hasnobetteridea.
Drufihasnoreasontoattackorkillthecharacters,should
theymeet,unlessthecharactersattackherorifshesuspects
theyknowmorethanthey’readmittingabouttheRingof
Winter.Beforetakinganyaction,she’lltrytoferretoutwhat,if
anything,thecharactersknowaboutArtusCimberandthe
artifact.Drufi’sattemptstobecageyaboutherinteresthaveall
thesubtletyofachargingmammoth.Anycharacterwho
succeedsonaDC 10 Wisdom(Insight)checkquickly
recognizesthatDrufi’sclumsyquestionsareaboutapowerful
magiciteminCimber’spossession.
Anymeetingbetweenthecharactersandthegiantswillbe
moredramaticifitoccursafterthecharacters’firstencounter
withArtusCimber.Iftheyadmitthey’vemethimbutcan’t
(orwon’t)tellDrufiwhereheis,shehasallthereasonshe
needstocapturethecharactersandtorturetheinformation
outofthem.
Treasure
TheHvalspyd’sstoreshavebeenmostlydepleted,andthefrost
giantsdidn’tbringtreasurewiththemontheexpedition.Ishau
ThecoastalsettlementofIshausankintothesea.Now,the
village’sstonebuildingssitcompletelyunderwaterinRefuge
Bay,afewmilesfromshore.Huntersharksandreefsharks
glideamongthesunkenruins,competingwithplesiosaursfor
thepositionastoppredator—butallofthemfearandavoid
theviciousseahagswhooccasionallyscourtheruinsfor
humanremainsandwaterloggedtrinkets.JahakaAnchorage
ThreepirateshipsuseJahakaAnchorage(map 2. 10 )asa
haven:theDragonfang,theEmeraldEye,andtheStirge.All
threearesailingships(seechapter 5 oftheDungeonMaster’s
Guide).Seethe“PiratesofJahakaAnchorage”sidebarfor
informationonthecaptainandcrewofeachvessel.
Onlyonepirateshipisdockedattheanchorageatany
giventime.Asecondshipridesatanchoroutsidetheharbor
uptoamileaway,readytodefendtheanchorage.Thethird
shipisalwaysatsea,usuallyprowlingforvictims.Youcan
randomlydeterminewhichshipsarewhere.Thecaptainof
whichevershipisdockedcommandstheanchoragefrom
aboardhisship.
The
anchorageis
sheltered
insideasea
cave.It’sdamp
andechoing,
butatleastthe
cavekeepsout
thedailyrain.
Thepirates
outfittedit
withapierand
aramshackle
fortbuiltfrom
scavenged
planking,old
barrels,deck
grates,spars,
andwhatever