Filipok/Treasure Finder
Filipok appears as a boy of eight to ten years old. He lives in the village of Yarozersk with his family, headed by his father, Ruslan Anatolievich.
Just over a year ago, Filipok became lost in the woods, apparently during a mushroom-hunting expedition, along with his friends. He did not return, and for a long time, was presumed dead. However, in the late spring of the current year, he did come back. Not only that, but he was bearing gold and silver, which he apparently discovered in the woods, as part of a buried treasure hoard. Filipok's return was hailed as a blessing and a change in the village's fortune. Despite the fact that the village's crop was trampled (apparently by a giant) later that summer, the wealth he brought seems to have raised the village's wealth significantly.
When he is questioned about his survival, and about how he found the treasure, Filipok merely responds by saying that God watched over him. When pressed, he references Scripture.
The boy speaks in the manner of a lettered adult. He also likes to wear a straw hat. There is apparently nothing magical about him, although his manner of speaking evinces some curiosity, as well as disdain for those around him. His mannerisms - tilting his head down, rubbing his fingers together, are altogether reminiscent of Alexei Ustinovich - the son of a fisherman the Yokels had met on the lake a day earlier. Filipok also likes to spend time playin by himself, in the barn. After spending so much time alone, he does not like big crowds, and will ask his father to take him to the barn if he is getting too much attention.
More was subsequently learned about the boy. Sasha discovered a wooden manakin in the tool shed where he spent most of his time, and the manakin hit her very hard as she was searching around in the dark. Later, after the Yokels killed the A giant that had been trampling fields outside Yarozersk, the boy set a pack of wild dogs on Drazhan as he stood guard outside the giant's cave. Though concealed by trees, the boy made threats against the Yokels, and accused them of being marauders who killed the last of the giant's kind without knowing anything about him. The dogs nearly tore Drazhan apart. Vasilisa later tracked the boy to a clearing in the woods, where he was talking and tending to the same giant, apparently come back to life.
When the Yokels went into the Subterranean Book located beneath the giant's cave, they learned more about the boy. Two winds, confined in stone vessels in the smithy, informed them that a small creature had come in to the complex, and wore the crown that Drazhan had recovered, which allowed him to command them (though they said he removed two copper horns from it). In a blood-stained enclosure at the back end of the complex, they found the skeleton of a young boy, and also learned that the tree bearing the Apples of Paradise, which grew nearby, were granted to one who would be willing to sacrifice a life for them. From this, the Yokels concluded that the boy Filipok was likely killed by an imposter, probably a chud, as Vasilisa surmised. Later still, in a conversation with the talking chest Sunduk Sundukovich, the Yokels learned that the boy's real name was Treasure Finder.
When the Yokels exited the compound and returned to the village, they found Filipok/Treasure Finder waiting for them. He wore a tiara with what looked like the two missing horns of Drazhan's crown on it. With him, were a group of minions - the manikin, the giant, and eight wolves. Filipok informed them that he was aware of their activities in the subterranean book, and that they proved more competent than he expected, but now, he wanted them to leave all the items they acquired from the dungeon, if they wanted to leave with their lives. The book, the village, and the surrounding lands, he contended, rightly belong to his people, and the Yokels had no business here, and no claim to them. He indicated that he had already expelled all the village residents. The Yokels tried attacking Treasure Hunter, but he proved to be a powerful spellcaster, and his minions felled Drazhan and Sasha during that fight. He then repeated his terms - the survivors could leave if they relinquished everything they took from the dungeon. He warned them not to return there.
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