There has been a surprising and shocking discovery at the quarry of Thornwick Hills; there was a weak earthquake, and the southern end of the quarry wall collapsed, revealing a crude statue of man. It holds a spear-like object in one hand and what seems to be a shield in the other, and towers a head higher than most man. Runes of many shapes and size adorned the surface of the figure. Many has come to gaze upon the statue, trying to discern its secrets. What is the story of the Stone Man of Thornwick Hills?
- Believing that the stone statue marks the true tomb of a legendary king who with the help of a giant, managed to conquer and bring pace the region, , the priest of the village has persuaded the foreman of the quarry to dig deeper into the side of the quarry. Sure enough, tunnels which lead further in are founds and enough trinkets have been unearthed which suggest treasures deeper in. The PCs may be involved in exploring the tunnels and examining the statue. One day, however, the stone man was found missing – and the priest of the village was found dead, the trinket which he found in the tunnels missing. What had the villagers awoken in their foolishness?
- A dream began to haunt a certain youth in the village; in it, he sees the stone man beginning to move and placed a glorious crown upon his head. Within a few days, a few visitors mingled with the people examining the statue and visited the youth. He was the heir of an ancient warlord who ruled the land, and a demon of stone enforced his iron will. The visitors are protector of the secret which would awake the demon. If the youth wishes power, he would have it, but he would need to stain the stone man with blood of three people who he loved. Did the youth reject the visitors’ plans, or is his father death which is soon to come a mere coincidence?
- There begin a wild tale of how there are trampled crops, footsteps of stones and cattle which seemed to be speared to death. Some claimed the Stone Man changes its position slight each day; other swear that they saw it moving in their backyard. It may be the work of a prankster, it may be the Stone Man really coming to life. In fact, the Stone Man is a golem, bound to protect a certain area. From his route one can discern a central area where something of great importance may be hidden. It may be the site of an ancient wizard’s lair or a source of powerful Earth magic. Its freedom from its rock tomb allows him to perform his duty once more. Harmless? What if the appearance of the golem caused people seeking what it protects to enroach the fief?
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Singapore License.
