The Chronicles of The Lightbringer

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Discovery

Flint was a fire genasi, an elemental being given human form. The wind blew lightly against his fiery orange hair he kept shortly cut into a small Mohawk. The morning sun beat down on his dark brown skin, warming him and charging his innate inner flame. With the stealth of a faint whisper he stalked the trees, following what he could only recognize as a large humanoid's tracks. Flint was one of the bounty hunters of the Harper's, an organization that worked in secret to try and make the world a better place for all. For today's mission he had been briefed that something had been killing a large swath of local wildlife in the forest surrounding Amphail, a small village north of Waterdeep, the great sprawling metropolis of The Sword Coast.
     It was a small job for a ranger of Flint's caliber, but he was bored and needed out of the bustling city for awhile. He enjoyed the wilderness, it was peaceful to him to just sunbathe in the woods and listen to nature. As he was daydreaming about perching himself on a high branch and letting the sun soak his nimble body he froze as he heard the unmistakable growl of an owlbear, an odd mix of a grizzly bear with the face of an owl. It sounded odd though, there were labored breaths and frustration in it's growls. There was a muffled thump and a subtle crack as Flint heard someone let out a deep yell, like the roar of a lion asserting dominance over it's domain.
    Flint waved his hands as green energy flowed from his hands to his feet and he lept up with the grace of a squirrel to a sturdy looking pine tree to get a better view of just what was happening. Once he had reached the top of the tree he spied a limping owlbear and a half naked Goliath in bear furs in a fierce standoff. The Goliath had pale grey skin with brown tribal tattoos adorning his face and back. His bulky mass towering an easy eight feet tall. His milky white eyes shown intense focus and determination towards his wounded foe. The Goliath was the first to act, taking a step forward and delivering a quick right hook that shook Flint to his very core in pure ferocity to the the side of the owlbear's face, making it stagger backwards and recoil in pain with a broken beak. The Goliath then took that opportunity to wrap his massive arms around the neck of the owlbear and jerk it sideways. There was a loud SNAP as the owlbear's head turned at an unnatural angle and slumped to the ground with a meaty THUD.
Flint stood perched in his tree in awe, did this Goliath just kill an owlbear with his bare hands? This had to be what was killing off the local wildlife. Flint knew Goliath's were strong, but this guy was unparalleled in the eyes of Flint, he could be useful to the Harper's. If that strength could be harnessed as a power for good then it would help the Harper's reputation with that new boom town to the north.
OK now how do I approach this beast of a Goliath, that just snapped the neck of an owlbear without getting killed? Flint thought. Well, he could always try the talking approach he figured. Flint hopped down from tree in near silence and started walking over to the Goliath non threateningly . "Hail friend, what brings you all the way out here?" The Goliath responded with a series of grunts and growls and it was at this moment Flint realized ah shit it doesn't speak common.
The Goliath rushed towards Flint as Flint panicked and waved his hands wildly, summoning a cloud of fog around him and the brute. He quickly backed out of the cloud and drew his longbow, heating up the tip of his arrow with his innate Fire Genasi powers. It took only a moment for the Goliath to find his way out of the fog and towards Flint again, but this time Flint was ready. He let loose his arrow, still searing with heat into the gray mountain of muscle. It found its home in the Goliath's shoulder, but it did nothing to stop his charge, which felt like it shook the earth with each step. The Goliath thrust his fist into Flint's stomach, sending him flying and knocking the wind out of him. As Flint lay on the ground trying to regain his bearings he thought to himself, he must be one of those able to resist physical damage done to him.
    Flint realized he was not going to win if he continued to try and fight physically, he had to use his magic if he wanted to get out of this forest in one piece. Flint rolled backwards and activated his longstrider spell. He quickly hopped to his feet and put distance between himself and the Goliath with the speed of a rabbit, all the while preparing a spell on his next arrow. Once he had gotten about thirty feet ahead of the Goliath he swiftly turned around and let loose his prepared arrow. The arrow shot out with unparalleled speed and found its mark in the Goliath's chest. There was an explosion of electricity and a loud BOOM that shook the surrounding trees and sent Fauna scattering as the Goliath was struck, but it only forced him to take a couple steps back before beginning his charge once again. Ok, if I cant knock him unconscious physically, I'll just do it mentally, Flint thought.
    Flint waved his hands, weaving together a spell that would put his Goliath friend to rest and spoke the command word, "Sleep!" Flint commanded. The Goliath slowed down and stumbled up to Flint before falling on top of him with the weight of a merchants wagon. Flint struggled to push his fallen foe off of him so he could breathe properly again, and eventually succeeded with visible effort.
    After gathering his bearings, and his breath, he cast a message spell to his contact in Amphail requesting a wagon and some backup, and that he had found what was killing the wildlife in the area.
    "What the hell are we supposed to do with this?" The mayor of Amphail, an calloused old man with few gray hairs adorning his wrinkled scalp complained. "We don't have a jail strong enough to hold him if what you said is true!"
"I'll be taking him back to Waterdeep with me, the Harper's may be able to make use of him." Flint explained.
"How are you gonna transport him all the way to Waterdeep?" The mayor inquired.
"I've got a helm of teleportation I use to get from mission to mission." Flint said, pulling out a Ronin-style helmet from his bag of holding. "I should be able to teleport with him unconscious like this. After we get to Waterdeep I'll hand him over to the combat division of the Harper's." With that Flint put on the helmet and teleported out of Amphail with the Goliath in tow, leaving the mayor standing there as where the genasi once stood was nothing but a small plume of purple smoke now.
    Flint appeared in the familiar hall of the Harper's underground warehouse. Sand colored columns with torches that continually burned adorned the main halls, paintings of great fighters filled the gaps between the pillars as a reminder to strive for the greatness these warriors once achieved. "Hey does anyone here speak Goliath?" Flint asked pointing to his unconscious guest.
"I believe they speak giant." A stern, but calm voice said from behind Flint. He quickly spun around in attention. "Yes Wise Owl Clayman!"
Wise Owl Clayman was a built human in his late forties, short but built as if sculpted by an artist. Along his back, an ornate Halberd rested, a visible representation of his martial prowess.
"So what brings you to our division?" Clayman asked.
"Well," Flint started, "I found him near Amphail where he killed an owlbear with his bare hands. I figured I'd bring him here so we could make use of that strength."
"I'll see what I can do, but first let's talk to the fellow." Clayman said snapping his fingers. The Goliath's eyes fluttered open as he struggled to gather his bearings. Clayman issued a series of grunts and growls and the Goliath shot him a look and issued his own grunts in response. "Will you excuse us Flint, i believe we have much to discuss." Clayman ordered. The Goliath eyed Flint with disdain and caution as he left the room. About an hour later Clayman emerged from the back room with the Goliath in tow. "
    "This is Vanoth," Clayman introduced. "Apparently he was cast out by his clan and has been roaming the countryside for some several years now. I talked with him and he seems interested in joining the civilized world. I agreed to take him in and teach him our ways in exchange for his services here at the Harper's."
"You really think you can teach him how to be civilized?" Flint said astonished. "He looks like he's a savage straight outta the jungles of Chult!" "We are giving him a chance to be part of the bigger world," Clayman said plainly, "It seems all he's known his whole life is violence and pain, he deserves to see the good side of what life in the Sword Coast has to offer." All the while Vanoth stood looking inquisitively at the two, unable to comprehend the gravity of what their discussion would have on his future.