Connects to: 03.08, 05.04, 15.07 and 29.14.36.
A nameless storm giant often wanders down from the mountains and into the lowlands below, accosting all he meets with a wager. For 10 gold, he will give a listener three chances to guess his riddle - about an item that he has crafted (and is carrying with him in a chest). Those who win the wager win the item. The giant changes his riddle for each new item he crafts, which is easily 20-100 times the wager fee. It generally takes him between a week and a month to craft a new item.
An example riddle:
“Seabound stone of ivory In silver chains of three and three The proud prize of Neptune Taken, not given, by the hand of man To adorn the heart of lady’s vanity.” Answer (and prize), a pearl necklace.
Although the nameless storm giant spends much of his days wandering the lowlands to the east, he makes his home in a small isle within the Giant’s Lake.
Very little rain falls in the secluded mountain valley that houses this lake, so when the weather is dry and the sun hot a thick layer of salt forms over the brine of this ancient lake, which is thick enough to walk on and reflects the sky like a great mirror.
The storm giant claims that the surrounding mountains are actually giants that have been turned to stone and that the salt of the lake is the dried residue of their tears. He does not harass the migratory birds that flock the lake when the rains come but he drives off any sentient creature he sees approaching the lake.
The location of the lake is not well known by the humans of the east, but Old Willie often came down from the mountains with bags of salt, which sold well at Uncle Bertie’s Trading Post. Since his disappearance, the trading post has been running low on salt, much to the consternation of the locals that rely on it to preserve their meat.
Connections:
- The storm giant makes regular visits to Uncle Bertie’s Trading Post (03.08) and KFE (15.07), where he gets most of his wagers.
- He knows of, and refuses to deal with Abdul and his winery (05.04).
- This location is mentioned in a strange journal which discusses why it rains but once a year (29.14.36).
Hooks:
- Why does the giant engage in a game of riddles for his items?
- What happened to Old Willie. Did the giant kill him for stealing salt?
- The story about the petrified giants isn’t really true, is it?
