Page 65 - Tomb of Annihilation

10. MINE CART BAY check succeeds by 5 or more, the source is recognized
The dwarves parked their ore carts and flatbed rail as frost giants. A Chultan guide has advantage on this
carts here when they weren't in use. Two of each are check but won't make the leap to frost giants. That idea
still here, and both are in minimal working condition. is just too far-fetched.
The firenewts use the area as stables for twelve giant So far, the giants' searching has roamed from the
striders (see appendix D). The giant striders are teth- coast to the River Tiryki, and from the ruins of Port
ered, but the tethers are meant only to keep them from Castigliar to the northeastern mountains. Drufi has
crossing the westernmost line of cart tracks and wan- seen Fort Beluarian from a distance and Port Nyanzaru
dering through the tunnels. An angry or alarmed strider from across the mouth of the River Tiryki, but the giants
can easily break loose, and these vicious creatures be- avoid Flaming Fist patrols. For their part, the mercenar-
come both angry and alarmed when they see humanoids ies and scouts from the fort have seen many puzzling
who aren't their firenewt masters. signs in lhe jungle to the south, but they haven't yet
As soon as a non-firenewt enters area 10, the giant concluded they're dealing with frost giants. The giants'
striders begin stamping, growling, and straining at their next step will be to push farther south. At some point
tethers. Beginning on the following round, ld3 giant (determined by you), they'll return to the Hvalspyd, sail
striders break loose each round and attack or join in an south to Refuge Bay, and start the search afresh from
ongoing battle. They don't attack firenewts, and a fire- there. Obviously, this is a very inefficient way to search
newt can hop onto a giant strider and ride it as a mount an area as large and as dense as Chu It, but Drufi bas no
using the standard rules for mounted combat. better idea.
Drufi has no reason to attack or kill the characters,
HVALSPYD should they meet, unless the characters attack her or
The Hvalspyd (the name means "whale spear") is a long- if she suspects they know more than they're admitting
ship sized for frost giants: 250 feet long, with sails made about the Ring of Winter. Before taking any action, she'll
from white dragon wings. It's anchored 100 yards off a try to ferret out what, if anything, the characters know
beach along Chult's northeast coast, 70 miles north of about Artus Cimber and the artifact. Drufi's attempts
Kitcher's Inlet. It's impossible for the giants to hide the to be cagey about her interest have all the subtlety of a
vessel; anyone sailing down the coast can't miss it. charging mammoth. Any character who succeeds on a
The Hvalspyd sailed south from the Sea of Moving Ice DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check quickly recognizes that
with a crew of twenty frost giants. Three frost giants re- Drufi's clumsy questions are about a powerful magic
main aboard the ship-two stand guard while the third item in Cimber's possession.
rests. Two more frost giants watch Lhe sea from the Any meeting between the characters and the giants
beach. The other fifteen giants have split into five search will be more dramatic if it occurs after the characters'
parties of three giants each, and are searching the jun- first encounter with Artus Cimber. If they admit they've
gle for Artus Cimber and the Ring of Winter. One of the met him but can't (or won't) tell Drufi where he is, she
frost giant hunters is the Hvalspyd's captain, Drufi (NE has all the reason she needs to capture the characters
female frost giant). and torture the information out of them.
At the behest of her lord, Jar! Storvald, Drufi led this TREASURE
expedition to retrieve the ring. Storvald wants it for rea- The Hva/spyd's stores have been mostly depleted, and
sons explained in the adventure Storm King's Thunder. the frost giants didn't bring treasure with them on the
He believes that with the Ring of Winter, he can freeze expedition.
the world and bring about the Age of Everlasting Ice-a
wonderful dream that keeps Drufi focused on the task !SHAU
at hand. The giants know nothing of Acererak, the Soul-
monger, or the death curse. The coastal settlement of Ishau sank into the sea. Now,
The frost giants are out of their element in tropical the village's stone buildings sit completely underwater in
jungle. They regard it as the worst kind of hell imagin- Refuge Bay, a few miles from shore. Hunter sharks and
able. They have no intention, however, of failing their jar! reef sharks glide among the sunken ruins, competing
and letting the Ring of Winter slip through their grasp. with plesiosaurs for the position as top predator- but all
of them fear and avoid the vicious sea hags who occa-
FROST GIANT SEARCH PARTIES sionally scour the ruins for human remains and water-
Drufi's search party includes two male frost giants and logged trinkets.
a pair of winter wolves. Each of the other four search
parties consists of three frost giants and 1d2 winter jAHAKA ANCHORAGE
wolves. The frost giants can't move through the jungle Three pirate ships useJahaka Anchorage (map 2.10)
without leaving a trail. If characters encounter giants, as a haven: the Dragonfang, the Emerald Bye, and the
they're likely to see evidence hou rs or days before the ac- Stirge. All three are sailing ships (see chapter 5 of the
tual meeting: trampled brush, broken or uprooted trees, Dungeon Master's Guide). See the "Pirates of Jahaka
gigantic boot prints, 3-foot-high runic trail markings Anchorage" sidebar (page 67) for information on the
carved into trees or etched onto boulders, and winter captain and crew of each vessel.
wolf droppings. Chult has many gigantic carnivores, so Only one pirate ship is docked at the anchorage at any
a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check is needed given lime. A second ship rides ac anchor outside the
to identify these indicators as foreign to the jungle: if the harbor up to a mile away, ready to defend the anchorage.

CHAPTER 2 I THE !AND OF CHU LT