Hvalspyd is the longship of a frost giant expedition to Chult, anchored 100 yards offshore along the northeast coast, 70 miles north of Kitcher’s Inlet. The massive vessel measures 250 feet long and features sails made from white dragon wings, making it impossible to conceal from coastal travelers.
The Expedition
The ship originally sailed south from the Sea of Moving Ice with a crew of twenty frost giants under Captain Drufi (NE female frost giant). At any given time, three frost giants remain aboard (two on guard, one resting) and two more watch the beach, while fifteen others are divided into five search parties of three giants each, scouring the jungle.
Mission
Drufi leads this expedition at the behest of her lord, Jarl Storvald, to retrieve the Ring of Winter from Artus Cimber. Storvald believes the ring will allow him to freeze the world and bring about the Age of Everlasting Ice. The giants know nothing of Acererak, the Soulmonger, or the death curse—they are focused solely on obtaining the ring.
Search Operations
The frost giants are severely out of their element in Chult’s tropical climate, regarding it as “the worst kind of hell imaginable,” but remain committed to their mission. Their search parties operate between the coast and the River Tiryki, from Port Castigliar’s ruins to the northeastern mountains. Each of the four regular search parties consists of three frost giants and 1-2 winter wolves; Drufi’s party includes two male frost giants and two winter wolves.
The giants leave obvious trails: trampled brush, broken or uprooted trees, gigantic boot prints, 3-foot-high runic trail markings carved into trees or boulders, and winter wolf droppings. A DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check identifies these signs as foreign to the jungle; success by 5 or more recognizes them as frost giant signs.
While Drufi has spotted Fort Beluarian and Port Nyanzaru from a distance, the giants avoid Flaming Fist patrols. The mercenaries have noticed puzzling signs but haven’t yet concluded frost giants are responsible. The giants plan to eventually sail south to Refuge Bay and resume their search from there.
Encounters
Drufi has no immediate reason to attack characters unless provoked or if she suspects they know about the Ring of Winter. She will attempt to question characters about Artus Cimber and the artifact, though her attempts at subtlety are clumsy—a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals she’s probing for information about a powerful magic item in Cimber’s possession. If characters admit meeting Artus but refuse to reveal his location, Drufi will capture and torture them for information.
Related Quest
Fort Beluarian’s commander, Liara Portyr, offers a mission called “Strangers in a Strange Land” to investigate giant footprints south of the fort. Completing this mission requires locating at least one search party and the Hvalspyd itself, then providing compelling evidence (such as a frost giant’s severed head or giant-sized weapon) to convince the skeptical Portyr that frost giants have actually landed in Chult.