Philgor Longhammer's page

Philgor was 15 when the giants attacked his village. He was off hunting with his father and uncle but they heard the sound of the church bell ringing down in the valley and soon saw smoke coming from the village. His father had instructed him to finish dressing the deer they had brought down while he and his brother went to investigate what was going on.

By nightfall, when they had not returned to fetch him, he set off for the village. When he reached the edge of the forest he could see the fires still burning and the shadowy figures of the giants and their dire wolf companions. He could hear the screams of those still alive but he dared not approach any closer for fear that the wolves would catch his scent. The giants celebrated and feasted long into the night.

Near dawn he saw the giants leaving and when the sun came up he entered the village and found the heads of every male in the village, including his father and uncle, piled atop the charred bones of the giants feast. There was no sign of any females from the village. The fate of his mother and two sisters was unknown but from tracks leading out of village it seems that they were marched off with the departing giants. The only clue as to who the giants were was the bloody left hand print that remained on every building still standing.

He searched the village and gathered what he could, including the small sack of gold that his family had hidden under the back steps of his home. Two men who lived outside the village, Thomas Redling and Edward Camsmit, showed up and helped him with the task of burying the remains of those that had been killed. They all set off for Trunau and when they arrived they reported what had happened. Thomas and Edward rested and returned to their homes and Philgor was placed in the care of a local resident.

Bombadil was a widower with no children of his own. He had once been in the army of Lastwall. The death of his wife weighed heavily on him. Everything in his home reminded him of her so he left it all and moved to Trunau. He has been helping train the militia and improving the defenses around the city. He raised Philgor as his son and taught him to fight with all types of weapons. His specialty was with pole arms. Bombadil was fond of saying, "You can't kill a giant by whacking him in the knee. You have to hit him in the head and the only way to reach way up there is with a big-ass weapon!".

Philgor vowed that he would find the tribe of giants who had attack his village and somehow destroy them. He would also like to find out the fate of his family and rescue them if they still live. He greets every returning patrol asking for news that might help him find where the giants are located but so far there has been nothing. He will soon join the militia and start searching outside the town itself for clues.

They enter the office of the militia captain and are informed that they are to travel to Vigil and then to Arwyll Stead. They are to escort a caravan of ore from the mines there back to Trunau for smiths to use in making weapons. It seems that the smiths prefer the ore from Northern Lastwall. It has a property that keeps the blades sharper longer. Philgor is excited about the idea of getting out of Trunau and seeing Lastwall and its capital. Maybe he will have time to ask around about the giants with the bloody handprint.
The trip to Vigil is uneventful. Philgor is overwhelmed by the size of the city. The sergeant keeps the group close together in the city. He can see by the wide-eyed expression on Philgor's face that he is too young to be left on his own.
They leave Vigil after two days and head north. When they are over half way to Arwyll Stead they are ambushed by orcs. The fighting was intense and only Philgor and the sergeant are still alive. They continue on to Arwyll Stead but the sergeant is going to need a lot of time to recover from his wounds.

At the next town they found an inn for the sergeant to rest in for a few weeks. Philgor waited a few days and headed out to Arwyll Stead to meet the caravan and let them know what happened.

Philgor lost everything he had when the giants attacked. He knows that the tribe of giants are out there but has no idea where to begin looking. Should he return to his village and try to follow the tracks left by the giants when they headed north? The trail is over 4 years old now but giant leave more than footprints in their wake and these clues may lead him to his family. He holds little hope that his mother and two sisters are still alive but he has to try and find them. He also wants to destroy the tribe of giants that destroyed his village so that they will not do it again to another village. Is this justice or revenge or both? Philgor trains everyday in the hopes that he can bring these events about.

Driving force: To destroy those who destroyed his family and friends.

Aspiration: Join the Trunau Militia and become a great warrior who defends the region from marauding giants. Maybe even become Patrol Leader or Patrol Captain of Trunau and sit on the council.

Secret Desire: To find out the fate of his missing family members.

The patrol rides into view of the gate and as always Philgor is there to greet them.
"Hail Captain Garth!"
The patrol leader reins in by the youth and states,
"Hail Philgor and let me answer all of your questions before you even ask ."
Philgor stares at the man with a sheepish grin and hold up one finger.
"No, we did not encounter any giants on this patrol."
a second finger is raised
"No, we did not find any sign of a bloody giant handprint."
a third finger is raised
"No, there were no clues about the fate of your family"
the fourth and final finger
"No, you cannot join the militia earlier then your 19th birthday"
The captain continues
"You only have one more week to wait and I look forward to that day just so that I don't have to stop here after every patrol and give you the bad news. You're a good lad and I look forward to having you with us."
with a broad smile Philgor replays
"Thank you Captain. I know I have been a bother to you and the patrol since I arrived. Not knowing the fate of my family has been hard on me. Any clues that will help me find them are important."
the captain begins to ride on
"I understand. We will continue to look for those clues together and bring them back if we can."

Philgor heads back home and finds Bombadil waiting
"I can see by the look on your face that there was no news from the patrol today."
Philgor nods and retrieves this Lucerne Hammer from its resting spot by the door
"Come, teach me that new trick you were describing at dinner last night. You said something about sundering armor. That might come in handy versus an armored giant."

None but I really would like to try it. All of my tabletop gaming options have vanished. I have a friend who plays with you and he is willing to coach me through it. I am on my computer every day so posting often is not a problem. I have been reading the posts of other campaigns and find it fascinating. I would love to try my hand at it.

Philgor sits in his usual spot near the door. He prefers the quiet back there. Around the hearth others are massed keeping warm, drinking, laughing, and telling tales of glory. He smiles as he watches each of them try to top the other's tale with more and more outrageous stories.

The door opens and a stranger walks in surveys the room and looks at Philgor. "May I join you lad?" Without waiting for an answer he drops his pack and kicks it under the table and then sits down. "My name is Julio"[/b], he stated.

Philgor smiles at the man and raising his up cup in salute. "I am Philgor". The man waves over the barmaid and orders food and drink for himself and another cup of ale for Philgor.

"Thank you sir. I can see that you are new in town. Are you passing through or have you come to help us hold back the hordes that plague our region."

"I am not sure yet, but this town seem more welcoming than any I have seen lately. Between the burned out villages and those who won't let strangers enter, this is a nice change."

"I understand", Philgor replies, "People around these parts all have stories of lost friends and loved ones. It makes them wary of anyone from outside their small circle. Even I lost everyone when giants attacked my village. I was not there when the attack began but when I finally arrived it was too late to save anyone. My father and uncle were killed and my mother and sisters were marched off with the giants. I came here since I had nowhere else to go. The town adopted me and I do my best to help protect it. Someday I hope find those giants and make them pay for what they did to my family."

The stranger nods his head. The look in his eyes saying that he too knows about the loss of loved ones. After a few moments he states, "I have a similar tale but it was many years ago. I hunted down those who caused my pain and extracted my revenge upon them. It was a short lived happiness. When it was done they were dead and I was still alive and still grieving the loss of my family. Now I am on the run from those who would extract revenge upon me for their loss."

The food and drink arrived. The stranger finished his meal in silence, gathered up his belongings. As he left he thanked Philgor for the company and said, "Do not let revenge consume you lad, for it will destroy you in the end. Better to seek the return of your family if they still live. You have a long life ahead of you. I will see you around town for I have decided to stay here for awhile and rest my tired feet."
Philgor said goodbye and watched the man leave pondering about the man's tale and advice.