I've begun my "Hulburg and the High Seas" campaign and a core component of it will be a Kingmaker-esque plotline as a young lord will work to turn Hulburg from what it is in the 1350s (a keep and 12 shieldsworn) to a what it is in the 1470s (a thriving city).
Obviously (since the Hulmasters do this in canon realms) all the components for rebuilding the city do exist. But, I'd like to see peoples thoughts, comments, and ideas on how you get from an adventuring party and no more than 20 NPCs and start attracting settlers.
My basic thought, so far, is to use stronghold builders guidebook for the PCs to work on the "new" keep and transition into Kingmaker as they start building up the town. But that period of time inbetween vexes me.
Ericon (the young noble) has returned to Hulburg, after saving Phlan, New Verdigris, Melvaunt, and Hulburg from Marcus' Pools of Darkness scheme. He hired two retainers and a manservant in Phlan, mainly to serve as guards for his wagon during the trip. He brought a few adventurers with him.
I could just "let them figure it out," but Agryl Hulmaster is still alive, having adopted Ericon through his marriage to Amali Hulmaster. He is the driving force behind the rebuilding of the city and will have to be throwing ideas out to the group. I've already come up with him giving them locations of various rumored treasures to seek out and bring back.
It's also important to me that Ericon not become the key figure of the campaign, that this still remain the adventures of the group as a whole.
So, what ideas are out there?