The town of Tolbi has put out a call to its allies in Acryn for aid. The City Council of Acryn is putting together a team of adventurers to lend their assistance.
Eric Lucker - Gareth
Jarred Samuels - Dan A
Arcus Blackthorn - Oliver
The party travel via boat to the island on which Tolbi lies. They make there way from the Port to meet their contact, Lady Asha Vane; a local representative of the Wayfinders Guild, Matteus de Pardieux, and a builder priest, Clovis Brinkham. Lady Vane explains that the town has been under attack by giant humanoids, who have assailed the city walls from the flux. The church of the Builder has fortified the town's defenses for now but they would like to know where the threat has come from. She also suggests they speak to the legendary “giant-slayer” Frilo Haas. Before they leave there is an almighty crash and giants start pouring in to the town. The party fight the monstrous creatures off, as Clovis rushes to repair the damaged walls.
The party find Frilo in a pub called the Hammer. It takes very little persuasion for him to reveal that the giant he killed all those years ago was living amongst a group of exiles in the hills outside the city. The party head off to track down the exiles and on their way are attacked by giants. They also discover the town's guilty secret, that it has been casting out its undesirables rather than dealing with them. This is highlighted when they come across a group of farmers that have been mostly wiped out by the giants. Although ostensibly they were sent out to set up farms in the flux, the survivor claims that the real reason was the town simply did not have enough food for them after the Upheaval and they were sent out to die.
The party finally find the Outcasts, who are being attacked by giants, due to a mad Wayfinder having gotten hold of the bones of the original giant. Once the giants have been defeated and the Wayfinder captured the party talk to the Outcasts. They tell them that the original “so-called” giant was just a child, who although large for his age was basically harmless. His mother, a woman named Christa, had been cast out the two for being pregnant outside wedlock. A group of adventurers came and killed the poor boy, claiming that he had been responsible for the deaths of some livestock. Since the Upheaval there have been giants in the hills but they never bothered the town until now. They also left the outcasts alone so long as they had Christa with them. The also reveal that a few weeks back a man who from his description resembles Mattieus de Perdieux came and kidnapped Christa. They party head back towards Tolbi, stopping on the way to bury the giant bones and fighting a mage who seems to have reanimated a number of corpses.
On the way back to Tolbi the party encounter a Wayfinder who has lost control of his powers. They try to calm him down as strange apparations appear from the flux. Eric, who is feeling unusually suggestible, permenently stabalises the flux in the area at Arcus's suggestion that it might help. Further down the road the party encounter Frilos, who although he has nothing against the party has been hired to stop them getting back to the town and just really wants to get paid. Arcus buys out his contract but the adventurers travelling with him attack the party. The party manage to restrain them, leaving all of them alive and Arcus bribes some of them to go apprehend Frilos.
Finally the party reach the Wayfinder's guild, where Matteus has Christa prisoner. Jarred and Eric attack, whilst Arcus flees with the old woman. Matteus calls forth creatures from the flux to fight the remaining party members and Eric is killed by them. Jarred assails Matteus and kills him but as he dies a great colossus, bigger than any of the other giants, emerges from his body, with Jarred still clinging to its back. Jarred and the colossus fight, with Jarred keeping himself alive using his advanced alchemy skills, and eventually Jarred slays the monster. Arcus returns to find Jarred grieving over Eric's lifeless corpse.
Jarred heads to find the next boat off the island, feeling dejected over his friends death. Meanwhile Arcus schemes to improve Acryn's influence in Tolbi. He uses the death of the Wayfinder to bring in some Wayfinder's loyal to him. He also attempts to leverage better trade agreements for Acryn. The party negotiate with the town council to erect a statue in Eric's memory, which they agree to, and to front his funeral costs. With Christa returned to her home amongst the Outcasts the giants stop attacking the city.
Meanwhile Eric the Black Hand, who is on the run from the law in Tolbi for smuggling, awakes in one of the town's sewers, which he has been making his home. He recalls that he has been misappropriating food and medicines to send to the Outcasts, disapproving of how the town has been treating them. He then remembers that he is actually Eric Luckner and smuggles himself back to Acryn.
Jarred returns to Eric's family and still under the effect of his compulsion never to tell the truth informs them how he died pointlessly and that he's glad he is dead. He then starts packing up his things intending to leave the Luckner estates, when Eric returns very much alive. A very awkward conversation is had.
The party receive 80 Acra each from the town council.
Arcus- Has increased his influence in the Wayfinder's guild, however due to the reports from Eric there is now a faction amongst them that are suspicious of him.
Jarred- Pending approval from the rest of the GM team has crafted a shield from the tanned skin of one of the flux giants, which has been maintained by Eric. My suggestion for what this will do is work as an inferior form of inertial barrier, granting +2 hits in flux. He might be able to improve this with further crafting.
Eric- Is now generally associated with the epithet “Guardian of Acryn” and can buy in to the personal power tree. He suffers consequences from permenantly restabilising an area, which need to be confirmed by the GM team. He also now has a third backstory, that of Eric the Black Hand. The main consequence of this is that he will occassionally come across people who know him as this identity and want to bring him to justice.