Guk

The city of the frogloks of Antonica was once the home of the trolls, who now live in their village of Grobb upon the swamps of Innothule. When the frogloks first arrived upon the shores of Innothule, they were exposed to the cannibalistic race of trolls and were horrified. The froglok nomads immediately began an assault on the trollish citadel beneath the swamps, hoping to rid the world of what they viewed as evil abominations. The trolls fought viciously but were ultimately unable to withstand the froglok armies who pushed them out of their city and took it over.

Outraged and fueled by a spiteful, malignant hatred, a powerful troll shaman entered his former city and began a massacre of froglok citizens with his own bare hands. As the soldiers and guardsmen began to arrive upon the scene, the troll shaman, drenched in froglok flesh and blood, conjured the very power of Innoruuk. This destructive blast killed the shaman as well as many hundreds of froglok witnesses. A curse was left in the wake of the blast that condemned the souls of the froglok victims to Innoruuk's Cauldron – their physical forms condemned to forever walk as the undead. The surviving frogloks persevered in building the stronghold of Upper Guk, where they continue to struggle with the trolls of Grobb to this very day.

The top levels of Guk are fairly intact and are heavily defended by froglok warriors, shamans and wizards. Shallow water passages created by water seeping in through the thin earth of the swamps above, flow generously throughout the top portion of the city.

Both crocodiles and froglok guardsmen patrol these waterways, making travel difficult for those who have earned the distrust of the otherwise peaceful froglok citizens. The passages eventually empty into large, subterranean ponds.

The bottom levels of the city are more cavernous, separated by large underground bogs which can be crossed via small wooden planks. Over the years the frogloks have begun to cultivate fungusmen guardians, growing them from the rich swampy earth.

Our people are a strong people. With Mithaniel Marr behind us, we have endured many catastrophes in our history, and have always managed to come back stronger than before. Recently, we were able to rise against the vile trolls, and took the city for our own, as Gukta, the outpost of Marr. The trolls have been unsuccessful in reclaiming the city, and Mithaniel willing, they never shall.

The ancient home of our people, Guk, was not so lucky. It was consumed by a curse unleashed by Innoruuk and the troll villain known as Ykesha. Many of our brave warriors were trapped there, either taken by surprise due to the attacks, or they stayed behind to fend off the undead hordes long enough to allow the rest of our people to escape. Now, in a dark twist that makes me shudder, they have joined the ranks of the walking dead.

Many of us have wondered if there is a chance to study who from our history might be still wandering the depths of Lower Guk, and what might be learned by discovering this information. I am to accompany a group of adventurers who are currently resting here within Gukta, and I will see if I can learn this information. We leave at dawn.

It took some time, but we were able to make it to a small chamber near a few precarious walkways. It was here that we found the first interesting member of the cursed frogloks. As we rested, we began to hear a sound off in the distance. It first sounded as if it came from above us, then it seemed to circle around to the sides of our small camp. It seemed like it was looking for a weaknes in our defense. Then, suddenly, it was silent - we heard nothing more. When we were ready to leave, we began to look for the source of the sound, but could not locate it. Just when we had given up, a black-colored froglok ghoul leapt at us from the shadows, and directly at our warrior. He was just fast enough to deflect the attack, and together we were able to beat the creature back. However, I always had the feeling it was there … watching us, just out of sight.

Further in, we found another strange room, where it seemed like the ghouls themselves would not even enter. We could hear a strange sound coming from it – something like a breathing, but more like a constant hiss, and the sound of rushing wind, almost as if something inside could not remain still, and moved incredibly fast. We approached cautiously, but it became evident that whatever we had heard, had heard us as well. We were instantly set upon by a creature of tremendous speed. It was a ghoul like the others, but was blindingly fast. It seemed chaotic in its attacks as well – one of us would be hit, then suddenly another would feel the sting of the creature’s unrelelnting attacks. We were able to land a magical shackle on the beast, which caused it to howl in anger. Immediately we fled the area – this creature proved to be too mighty for our group, and we hoped to leave it behind us.