Business as Usual (IC)

[BelGareth]

Business as Usual

It was a warm summer day in the city, and the dust was twirling in small dirt devils as the wind picked it up outside the city limits. The summer sky was an azure blue, that reflected in the water of the bay in a perfect way to ensure people would sigh and think on past summer days as young ones, running through the orchards and playing with each other in the barn.

Peace had come to the city, and it was good, the war had been several years out, but still it's signs could be seen, and would be for the foreseeable future, but the city was rebuilding, and it was booming the markets of several areas, which made several merchants happy.

Flying ships laden with rare materials, and passengers flew by every now and then, along with a harbor full of traditional maritime ships, taking passage and more standard goods all across the area, and bringing back ones needed, stone, woods, and foods.

Life had calmed down, and the living was good.


http://assets.vg247.com/current//2013/08/Zone8_ConceptArt.jpg

You all managed to find the board room before your Chief Information Officer ZeekGeist had, he was late, which wasn't a surprising thing now a days, he was perhaps one of the busiest men in the company, and now you know why he requested another assistant.

You found chilled lemon-water on the table, with frozen fruit shavings, a sign of your well to do standings within the city.

ZeekGeist found the room a few minutes after everyone had settled, standing in the doorway, he surveyed the room and smiled, a big warm hearty smile. ZeekGeist was a Gold Dwarf, one with a keen mind for business and management, and one of the best choices you had all made.


http://adventureaweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/male-dwarf-dweorg-merchant-council-159x300.png

He walked over to the table and poured himself a crystal cup of Lemon-Water and began "Welcome everyone, I've got several dockets for you today, intelligence has been good recently, lots of small things going on in the borderlands." he takes a sip and smiles again, accompanied by a small sigh.

He makes a small motion to the side, where a slim elven girl places a stack of papers on the table.

"You'll find the contents on these, but I'll go over them as speak:

1st we have rumors about a Demon-Ogre rampaging the country side, farmers all across the wildlands are claiming they have lost sheep and cow, but you know farmers, any chance they get to claim loss, they will, not much else on that one though...

Then we have reports on a band of thieves raiding the old Imperial high way, we haven't lost any caravans yet, but I'm going to be increasing guards as a precaution, I'll keep you posted

A giant has been reported in the Highmoons, town has managed to fund a 1000 gold piece reward, so apparently they're scared enough to cough over some coin, who knows, maybe something else...either way, good money

Rumors of a green dragon in the Serpents Woods have arised, but intel is woefully low at this time

Then theres the Frontier town of Elgsland that is purporting a band of orcs have been giving them a hard time, nothing about rewards, merely pleas of help."

He shrugs and narrows his eyes as he takes another sip "And of course, the usual, caravan duties, guards, etc...you know the rest, thats why you pay me."

[Navian]

She sits comfortably with her arms flung over the sides of her chair. A Demon-Ogre, you say? I thought it was an Ogre-Demon." Aerona realizes this makes her sound like a farm girl, and goes red-faced for a moment, before she attempts to recover, raising her arms and gesturing as if attempting to cook an unruly soufflé. "I mean, not that it--uh, I mean--it must be dealt with, all the same, " she finishes lamely, before waiting for someone else to step in.

[Hollowpoint]

http://watashiwabucho.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/yuuko-02.jpg

"I don't know..." Misaka said, finally laying down her book and inhaled deeply on her pipe. "Those farmers have a tendency to exaggerate. We'll probably get there to find nothing but wolves... Now those highway fellas, great way to get in good graces with someone."


Of course, seeing as Misaka is wearing her lazy persona today, you figure she's just be avoiding commitment to going too far away from the city.

[AngryCyc]

"Guys.." Keeya starts, rubbing her eyes exasperatedly, before continuing "We have at least one sure bet, with a guaranteed 1000 gp reward... But more
Importantly a DRAGON is spotted and it's not the immediate go-to? Do you know what dragons have? Hoards. ...hordes? No wait, it's hoards. A dragon hoard could potentially be stolen from us by whoever bothers to look into it before us."

[Navian]

Aerona protests weakly, "They also fly and melt flesh and have claws... and they're dragons." She sagged briefly, then sat up brightly again. "It makes sense to do something with guaranteed profit, where we can plan our attack. That's hard to do with rumours, in wilderness." She seemed quite pleased to have said something coherent.

[QuidEst]

As ZeekGeist spoke, Colin slouched against the air. It was like slouching against the wall, but without the support. That meant that the strain on his legs was actually very uncomfortable, and altogether it was not the least bit relaxing. It did wonders for keeping him nimble, though, and he had to admit that he liked the casual effect.

"Mmm. If a demon is worse than an ogre, better to have a demon-ogre than an ogre-demon," the kitsune said absently, considering the various opportunities. With a brief tug of his jacket for show, he pulled himself from the slouch into standing position. "Altruistically, I would say that since it's just 'rumors' of a dragon mean it's not doing as much harm, and we should help those in more immediate need. Financially, let me say that the dragon likely only arrived recently. If we head off to assist those offering a reward, well, others might take the hint. If not…" Colin grinned and shrugged. "The dragon's hoard will be larger. If somebody else gets to it first, that's certainly a pity, but it's dangerous enough that any attempts might just be adding to the collection. I'd like a few more facts before throwing my sword into that pile."

He paused to pick up the papers, rifling through to look at the last one again. "Hmm. Elgsland- a frontier town, you said? After we deal with Highmoons, be that before or after the dragon, it might make sense to go assist them. No stated reward, but there's what the orcs have, and it's by far the best opportunity to improve business long term. I'm sure they'll be more inclined to trade with our company if we come to their aid."

[AngryCyc]

"Oh alright... No dragons right away. But guaranteed 1000..." she lets out a whistle.

[Shyftir]

As per normal, Calder had been quiet until now. "I agree. We should find and stop this giant. 1,000 gold isn't a huge sum but it would certainly go a long way toward refitting the caravan guards, and the better we equip the guards the more we can charge for their services." He grinned. Not to say we won't keep any of the take personally.

[Hollowpoint]

Misaka inhaled again, listening to what the others had to say.

Once every got their turn, she sighed and spoke "I still think it's short-sighted, but I guess the award does make it tempting."

She extended her hand, not for piles of paper on the table, or even her book, but for the small annual her hunter's club issued. Sifting through member's notable achievements and innovations (you know the kind, all the usual pocket looseners,) she stopped at a sketch describing some new gizmo she could strap to her gun. "Highmoons it is then."

[BelGareth]

ZeekGeist nods, "Very well then, the Highmoons, I'll have the stable boys prepare you a caravan, it's not a long journey, but still a few days is a fey days." he smiles wanly "As you know I have things to attend to, I'll bid you goodbye and see those things." he bows slightly and then departs, whittling off some commands to his ever present staff that surrounded him like a swarm of buzzards.

Later that day, a runner comes and alerts you all that everything is ready, and several hours later, you all arrive outside, ready for travel.

The Caravan makes good work of the roads on the first day, and you think you are only one day out from the town, and you have been greeted by many friendly farmers and merchants, the countryside here seems calm and quiet, a nice respite from the bustle and hustle of the city.

Making camp, you feel relaxed, even so, setting up a watch comes naturally to you all, as your old adventure days come back with the ache and ease of muscle memory.

The night goes by uneventfully, and you saddle back up, reaching the Town of Highmoons by dinner, the town lies nestled in an old caldera, the city proper seemingly snug and protected by the outside world by the tall ridge line that surrounded everything, to even enter the Town, you need to go through a tunnel, underneath the ridge, through an old magma tube. But once you enter, you can see why it's called Highmoon, for the moon hangs just so slightly at an odd angle above the small town in it's little hole, making it seem higher than normal, but all the more intense.

You easily find room and board for you caravan and selves, by this time, the sun has set and the several inns in the town are becoming quite busy.


Feel free to purchase anything in the few hours before you leave, RP up the travel time if you wish, and the entering the town, also feel free to choose to travel on the caravan, your own mode of transport or whatever. If you want a driver to come along to drive, then thats cool as well.

Point of this, is to allow you to 'investigate' the giant issue, it's not meant to be hard, so don't feel pin-cushioned into having to become a detective.

[Navian]

Aerona picked up a few odds and ends before heading out, an old bow from a forgotten storeroom, some ammunition, and a couple of alchemical items she thought might come in handy for giant-hunting. She was pleasant enough throughout the trip, spending much of the night star-gazing rather than fussing over craftsmanship as she usually did. She didn't comment much on the sights, except, paradoxically, when they were travelling through the tunnel, where there was almost no end to her commentary on their surroundings.

She was still more pleased when they finally arrived. "Here we are--a new adventure! I'm going to go out and ask everyone about how there might be giants. At least one of them." She fidgeted with her bow and arrows, and gave the party a lot of sideways glances. "...I um, can't afford to buy drinks at the moment, that's embarrassing."

[Shyftir]

Calder

"Here." Calder threw a small bag of coins to the crafter. The pouch contained about 10g in a variety of coins. He sighed and shook his head. "You owe me one."

[Navian]

"Gee, thanks! Let me know if you have any special orders then, I can give you an extra special bonus discount even on top of the contractually-obligated one and the one for doing work that's fun."

She shoved the pouch in her pocket, then gave everyone sideways looks again, more from mischief than furtiveness this time. "Does anyone else want to come? We don't just have to listen to rumours, you know. We can also spread rumours." She nodded to herself, fairly certain it would catch someone's interest.

[AngryCyc]

"Nah..." Keeya says, "I want to spend a little time checking out the perimeter of town. This is pretty fancy how they are inside this caldera like this. I'll be back within an hour, I just want to scout out the terrain here."

She then goes with her familiar and starts walking around the perimeter of the town, telling her lightning elemental to fly up high and have a good look around, especially looking at the edges of the caldera if it can see that far. She spends the next hour slowly working her way around the town before coming back and heading into the tavern to see what everyone else has been up to.

I dunno, rolls and junk I guess? Perception for the witch [roll0] and perception for the familiar [roll1]
Stealth if needed for whatever reason [roll2] and for familiar [roll3]

And then some nice knowledge checks:
History: [roll4]
Nature: [roll5]

[Hollowpoint]

" - he never knew he was going to fight the captain of the guard! Can you imagine that? Fresh out of apprenticeship, and they initiate him with a fight with the captain? Lucky he wore that crappy armor; I mean, you wont believe it, but after he wore it for a week, suffering as he did, the bracer falls apart mid swing and hits the captain right in the face, knocking him out! Would you know what hit you, if that happened? So they let him join, and he goes to the blacksmith's first thing in the morning and walks up to the dwarf, thinking he'll give him a piece of his mind. But before he can say anything, the dwarf - "

"Ahem, milady?" The coachman finally stopped her. Misaka spent the entire two days talking his ears off; he complained a little in the beginning, but his pay was coming out of her pocket, so there was little he could do about it. She considered it minor miracle that he was one of the few drivers who didn't get headaches easily, or lacked the tact to invent one as an excuse.

"What happened, did I tell you this already? There is only a little bit left."

"It's nothing like that, it's just... we've arrived."

"Oh... Thanks!" She said and got off the carriage, just in time to see every one splitting. She notices Aerona is headed to a local watering hole, and joins her. Not before making a mental note: I'll definitely get ZeekGeist to throw a few more coins that driver's way, what was his name again?



My form will depend on the type of place we're heading.

[Shyftir]

Calder began looking for a suitable, reputable inn to stay the night. Never sleep where you drink.

He sighed again. How did he ever get himself to such a life?

[QuidEst]

Colin grinned Aerona. "Let it never be said that Colin Maracto was one to hide from strong men, strong drink, tall orders, or tall tales. I would be glad to accompany you," he said, giving a low bow before extending an arm. "Let me know if you'd rather be seen with somebody better looking, of course, and I'll see what I can manage," he added. "I can understand if after a journey such as this you're a little tired of the same old face."

[Navian]

"It's okay. Did you know my best friend from the village was a kitsune? He kept it a secret for so long! In fact, he kept it a secret until after he tricked me into letting him bypass the wards so he could defile the village shrine, almost got me and my master killed, and betrayed the whole village!" She blinks and freezes for a moment, considering the memory, then goes on, fidgeting awkwardly, "It all worked out, uh... eventually. Though they did all get banished, even after we worked things out..." She goes back to her full, shining smile.

"Do as you like! You know, it's kind of awkward to talk to someone you don't recognize, even if you know who they are? Especially if they look different every time. Maybe it's just me." She seemed willing to take him out to the taverns for the whole information-gathering whatchamacallit, anyway. Aerona gave Misaka a wave as she approached.

[QuidEst]

Colin just shrugged at Aerona's somewhat awkward explanation, still smiling as well. "And I'm usually in this form because of humanity's predilection for prejudice- and yet we both get along. I'm glad you worked it out, and probably in a much better fashion than my approach of aggressive perforation would have been."

He considered his form for a moment, then shrugged. There was a ripple of light, and his clothes changed to a finely tailored outfit, concealing his armor in the process. His features remained the same, though. "Mmm. A compromise, then. I'll make myself look presentable, but recognizable. Good?"

[Navian]

Aerona scratched her head, thoughtfully. "That's my usual approach, too, but I didn't really get the chance..." She shrugs, then quickly looks Colin up and down. "Mhmm, I can't complain. Hello, Misaka! We are off to the rumour mill." She began to lead the trio onward, or made an invitation for it, anyway.

[Hollowpoint]

"Then I guess I'm the awkward one then!" Misaka said, revealing a wily grin. When she finally caught up with the two, she put her arm around Aerona and pulled on her playfully.

Noticing Colin's glamoured clothes she exclaimed "Wow Colin, looking snazzy!" Then she noticed how she, herself, looked and said, "I guess I'm under dressed for the occasion, then." It was barely a moment later her features and clothes shifted.

http://s4.postimg.org/pxxdm72a5/2swordssnazzysmall.png

She then let go of Aerona and took a moment to reset her thoughts, better to fit persona with appearance. "Shall we move on, then?"

[Navian]

Aerona gave Misaka a couple semi-accurate pats on the back during the embrace, and then watched her transform with a look of confusion, despite it not being an unfamiliar experience. "Yup. Yup! Moving on," said Aerona eagerly, and hustled onward. "I wonder what's on tap?" she asked, as if her knowledge of beverages went beyond being able to tell ale and wine apart.

[QuidEst]

"Hmm. I don't know what's on tap, but I'll have you know that my standards are very exacting," Colin declared with a haughty air. "I must be able to drink it. I must be able to swallow it. It must get me drunk."

[Hollowpoint]

"A fine standard to place on your selection beverages," Misaka replied. "I shall admit, however, to failing in the application of third rule, on occasion. There is an edge in keeping a keen mind despite what appearance dictates."

[Navian]

"That's what my master says! Though he says it like--" She puts on a squinty expression with her cheeks pushed up, and strokes her chin as she does the impression in a level and serious voice, spoken through the pleased grin of one having fun at another's expense, "--'One does not quench steel in a furnace, and one does not drink on the job.' And then that had the corollary 'A good student always remains on the job,' and then the corollary to that was 'The ideal craftsman remains always a student.' I'm pretty sure he still drank with the elders, though."

She clears her throat. "Here, let me practice my rumour-spreading skills. 'Did you know that water is safe to drink in the mountains? Strange, but true.' Got to be careful about that one, if there's a mine up the river, you could be in trouble. I don't think I'll recommend it to people who live in a volcano..."

[Hollowpoint]

Misaka chuckled behind her raised hand. "Oh... My dear girl, you're doing it wrong..." She a took a moment to look around, and smiled; she got a great idea. "How about this?"

Whispering into Aerona's ear she said "did you know? stealing a fox-man's tail is like stealing his power. Once you have it, you can take it shrine and get all of his abilities."


Random disguise check to appear human [roll0]

[Navian]

Aerona's eyes widen, and then she pulls away, almost jumping with startlement. "Wow, that's dangerous! It's a good thing I don't want any." She's deep in thought for a moment, rubbing her hand over her mouth, but does not express what about, despite her eyebrows working as hard as they can.

[Hollowpoint]

"Hahaha..." Misaka laughed haughtily, raising her hand to cover her mouth again, as her role dictated. "Now that is the reaction you look for when spreading rumors!"

She patted Aerona on the head, "relax, I was lying."

[BelGareth]

Keeya walks around the outskirts of the town, it hasn't quite filled out to the edge of the caldera, so there was no steep climbing or dangerous falls to deal with, watching all the while for signs of anything out of the ordinary, or related to giants. Alas, nothing much shows up on you journey, and you only managed to get a good reading of the town, which is to say, its a pretty standard town.


You can recall tidbits of information about the town from your readings, it's been here in one shape or form for centuries, providing the natural defense for the town via the large caldera ridge, which is now patrolled, thanks to you wandering around the town. It has gone back and forth from peaceful humans, to orc residents, to even giants. But in the last century it has seen a relatively peaceful stretch, allowing the human residents to form a good solid town, where the defenses have been established.

You can tell, the town is one of the most secure holdings in the countryside, with the caldera ridgline, doubled with the human made defenses, the iron portculis, the watchtowers, and the patrols ontop of the ridgeline.


After making your way through the outskirts of the town you end up finding yourself in the Dirty Dragon Inn, a quaint little Inn with a wooden sign outside, marked with the rough outline of a roaring dragon in white.

Inside you find your acquaintances already enjoying some spirits, albeit tepidly attempting to come of as connoisseurs, but failing.

It is quite obvious to you all, (to Keeya on her walk, and the others from listening to gossip) that the giant does not come near the town proper, but is attacking the farmers on the outside of the caldera, in the open, where it can retreat into hiding until it is hungry again. Keen ears and eyes have told you that it's not 1 giant, but 2 or 3, as stories are being swapped of multiple farmsteads being hit at once, and the idea of sending the town guard to settle the situation.

Other comments are whether or not adventurers where going to come and help them.

From listening to the talks about the giant attacks, and garnering a map of the area from a drunk for another ale, you quickly mark out where the attacks are located, and realize there is a focal point, the farms are all within 20 miles of a forested area, marked by the map to have an abandoned cave (with the comments, 'don't go here' scrawled on it)....

[Navian]

Aerona sips her drink, whatever it is, and points out the lair on the map. "So, we go here, right? Maybe if we walk backwards, we can pretend we're going somewhere else."

[Hollowpoint]

Sipping from her own, watered down beverage (she bribed the servant girl, secretly,) Misaka preferred a different approach."Surely, we can delay charging into a giant's den until we figure out more about them?" She pointed at the location of one of the more recently attacked farms. "Let us gather more information about the monsters; giants are, after all, notoriously hard to get rid of."

[QuidEst]

Colin managed to look deeply wounded, clutching at something- presumably the idea of one of his tails. "Rude. Rude and hurtful, that's what that is," he said in mock seriousness. "Just wait until I tell them what the whiskers of a fox-woman are good for!"

~~~
"… Oh, at the Dirty Dragon
They've got just thirty flagons
Ask for more that and then you're done!
So have a bit to drink
While long you sit and think
And wish they'd let you have just thirty-one!
Hey!"

Colin got down from the table to rejoin the others, a pint in one hand, and dropped down into one of the chairs. "Why pretend when in the end that's where we intend to be? I can see no reason for not simply breezing on down and appeasing the town. We want to slay all the giants to satisfy our clients. Who'd offer us defiance?"

[AngryCyc]

"Probably the giants. Either with force, or with a nice sob story about how they're starving and need food and are just trying to survive without harming as many other people as they can. Actually I'm already fully expecting to hear that. So we should probably come to an agreement early that a swift execution is the best policy on this one. No need to sidestep the issue. We want payment? We need to do the job... Even if we find out the giant's are actually the good guys. That's.. Well that's all I have to contribute on the matter." she states, ending rather flatly and without much of a solid conclusion. The group knows she's a bit undertrained in the arts of vocal persuasion, especially with so many outgoing and personable members of the company there to insure that she never needs to practice her people skills.

She doesn't even bother with a drink either, she just drinks from her water pouch and occasionally asks for it to be refilled. Her small familiar hovers near her shoulder in guard mode, keeping a close eye on everything happening around.

[Navian]

"Bandits are never good guys! Except the ones that only rob tax collectors and huntsmen I guess, but I think there's a better word for that kind. Anyway, they didn't get a half gold bar bounty on their heads by being peaceful farmers like other giants. We've got a job to do, alright." She shakes her fists to declare her intention. Not that she's actually planning to try to punch a giant. That would be silly.

"I only prepared for one giant, and I wasn't expecting it to be in a cave, but I do have some grenades, if it comes to that..." She fidgets about where they'd be, though she's not actually carrying them in here. That would be dangerous.

[Hollowpoint]

"I guess that settles it, then?" Misaka stretched, then stood up. "I'll see you guys back at the inn, there is an old man with a oddly shaped scar on his arm over there who looks like he has an awesome story behind it."

Leaving the group, Misaka decides she actually likes this new group - swoop in, swoop out. A fine way to treat work, and get back to her free time.

Unless anyone has anything to add?

[Shyftir]

"The upfront approach? Good, I like it that way." Calder smiles while finishing his pint. It had become a fairly nice evening. The job seemed pretty clear-cut and not overly complicated. The inn was boisterous without undue rowdiness. All in all a pleasant experience thus far.

[QuidEst]

Colin rolled his eyes at Keeya as he downed the last of his pint. "You ma'am are chief amongst the reasons superstitious people think witches don't have hearts and can't cry. Personally, I see possible, albeit improbable, solutions such as the employment of the giants, mostly by keeping them well-fed. If we do deal with a dragon, doing it with a bunch of giants sounds far simpler. But I do intend on getting paid, one way or another, so don't worry yourself about that, and I doubt the giants will be particularly conversant- or that I'd understand anything they had to say."

[Navian]

"I can speak Giant," Aerona contributed thoughtfully. "Draconic, too, if it comes to that. I don't think we should get attached to the idea of talking them down. They've gone unchecked for a long time, and we don't have such a fearsome reputation yet..." She tries to blow bubbles in her drink and gets some in her nose, wincing painfully.

[AngryCyc]

Keeya looks down at the table and says a bit quietly "I was just saying. And besides, blame whoever invented the spells 'lipstitch', 'skin send', and 'vomit swarm' for giving witches a bad name..." She remains quiet for a bit as the others laugh and joke, doing their normal bar stuff.

After some time however, she yawns and asks the group "Okay so what's the plan then? Are we heading there tomorrow? Morning, noon, night? I actually don't know much about giant habits but I'd prefer catching them when they're most vulnerable. Do they often have spellcasters? If so we should plan to meet them when there is the greatest chance of their spellcasters having had used most their spells already, maybe later in the evening."

[Hollowpoint]

You could here the laughter coming from Misaka as she grew close. Upon reaching the table, she slumped in her vacant chair, "That was horrible! Nobody here has any storytelling talent."

Noticing the slight solemness of her colleagues, she arrives at the logical conclusion: "Aerona, what did you say, this time?"

[QuidEst]

Colin waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, she was making sure a crisis of conscience didn't lead to a crisis of finances, and I was just giving her a hard time about it. As far as any plan is concerned, you lot are free to sort out the details of hmm… optimization, shall we say. I already have my plan well in order, and I don't care when we get there. They're giants. If they were clever, we'd be sitting on much larger chairs right now."

[Navian]

Aerona dragged her hands through her hair, elbows on the table. "We don't even know what kind of giants they are. There's ocean giants and lava giants and sky giants and more. But we haven't heard anything like that, so let's hope it's the simple kind.

"We should probably scout it out in the daytime, if they came out in the day they'd be caught by now. So, we'll leave in the morning, and find out how dangerous they are before they know we're coming?" She sat up to look around at the rest of the group for confirmation.

[AngryCyc]

"That sounds good. Sunrise then? I still need to go get a room for myself anyways..." she says, heading off to try to reserve a small bed for herself for the night.

[Hollowpoint]

"Sunrise is fine." Misaka said, then took out one of her books and began reading, right there at the table.
There was nothing better to do anymore.

For those of you who feel curious as for the book's nature, a quick peek at cover reveals that it's the new Edogawa Conan book 'a study inside scarlet - featuring the Sherlock gnomes family!'

[QuidEst]

Colin stayed where he was for another drink and few more improvised verses of Thirty Flagons, increasingly esoteric as he had more ale and fewer obvious rhymes. When he reached "shirt he dragged on", he took it as a sign to call the night for what it was and retire to his room to pass out in stupefied slumber.

[BelGareth]

You all turn in, happy to not have to post a watch, and in comfortable beds, or at least, better than the hard ground, or the wooden caravans deck.

The rooms didn't cost too much, and those of you willing to sleep in the common room and not depart with coin, still found a warm hearth, and plenty of room.

You got your early call with a small shake from one of the stable boys a few hours before dawn, and you all stumbled out of your beds and into the street with sleep still clinging to your eyes. Once you lit your torches and mounted your horses, all weariness was replaced with the excitement of what was ahead, and you make good time to the farmstead out of town, passing through the tunnel and nodding to the guards on the outside as you pass.

The night was still, and you could hear the warmth of the summer, and more importantly feel it, as you traveled along the dirt road, it was a beautiful morning, and you came to the holding just as the first rays of light shone through the sky in a brilliant mosaic of color.

It was obvious there was some damage to the buildings, quite recent as well, and the farm was very quiet. Very quiet in the form of no movement at all, nothing, no animals heralding your arrival, no movement, nothing.

[AngryCyc]

Keeya sends her familiar up in the air to scout the area around the farm. She waits patiently for it to return.


Lightning elemental perception: [roll0]

[BelGareth]

You elemental doesn't see any movement, it seems something, or someone has taken all the livestock. What it can see is, where, there is an obvious trail from the back of the farmstead, where a large gaping whole is showing, that leads through a muddy and thoroughly torn up field towards the woods.

[AngryCyc]

As it flies back, Keeya talks back and forth with it in Auran.

"So it looks like there's a trail through a field around back... If anyone is up for se tracking. It sounds like there isn't any sign of people or animals around here. I guess the giants smashed their way in, took what they wanted, and left. I suppose we can poke around inside if anyone has any reason to..?"

[Hollowpoint]

"Giants, can't live with them, can't miss their mess from a mile away," Misaka joked. "We should follow the tracks, but keep our distance if we can."

Being useless for tracking or clue-looking, she doesn't even thing of volunteering.

[Navian]

"At least it can't be too hard to follow these footprints," Aerona hoped, with little certainty. "We've got to catch them in their lair--I mean, to find out what we're dealing with, and then deal with it. (By running away, if we have to.)"

Survival to follow the tracks: [roll0] Aerona will start as soon as everyone's done here. She's not eager to examine the ruined farm.

[BelGareth]

Moving around to the back, you easily find the trail, Aerona even points nuances about them, "Here they were carrying something heavy, probably cattle, and here" she points again "One was dragging something, it wasn't moving, and..." she runs over to another spot "looks like blood," she takes a sniff "smells like horse"

While everyone is amused, if not impressed by her skill, the trail leads off through the wheat fields and into the forest a few miles off.

You follow the trail, and it seems eerily quiet, no animals are nearby, as if they know what would happen if they lingered too long.

It takes a few hours, but you follow the trail, over broken tree trunks, through battered brush and mounds, easily following the large, heavy foot prints, and the drag marks of their heavy loads.

It comes to about noon when you crest a small hillock in a glade that is covered by the tree canopy when you see the flickering lights of a fire highlighting the rocky outcrop of a stony base on another hillock, leading down...

You all stop, wary of any danger, for giants are capable warriors, and you take a moment to listen, which pays dividends almost immediately, as you hear the following:

"Gah, Common Radik! I's wants eat somethun! I's ungry!"

"Erg, shut yer mowth! I's ungry, I's want ta eat sumthink!"

"Both of you shut up! we'll eat once we finish preparing these cows for the winter, do you both want to starve fat and happy while we freeze to death?"


A DC 15 Int check will tell you something is off, as giants aren't usually smart enough to speak in normal sentences, while its not common, it's not unheard of.

Bardic Lore DC 25
Ser Radick Kelworth is a errant scion of the Kelworth family, lost to them a few years ago, rumors have it, he turned to banditry, once he saw the ravages of his fathers people.

[QuidEst]

Collin passed his sword back and forth between hands in anticipation. "One of them sounds oddly well-spoken for a giant," he hissed to the others. "Sticking with the advice of slice 'n dice, Keeya? If we are, I think I should mention that there may have been a flawed premise in my earlier logic that, 'giants don't do magic- they can't even form proper sentences, let alone spells.' "

[Navian]

Aerona squinted into the trees."Um, hang on. I haven't seen any non-giant tracks... I could search around for them. But if we're going to fight I really need to put my armour on, but if we're not going to fight I really need to keep it off. So we kind of have to decide early and make sure I don't get caught in the middle." She swept around to look at her companions with heavy emphasis.

[Hollowpoint]

"Well I did say we needed more information," Misaka added pointedly. "We could talk to them, probably wont do any good."

[roll0]

[AngryCyc]

"Talk? Pff... sounds like a good way to lose the element of surprise. Just tell us when to attack and we will get right on it." Keeya says.

She turns to her elemental and whispers to it in Auran.

"Sneak around to the backside of the voices if you can. Circle around and make sure there aren't any others around then the group we hear. If everything looks to be good, hide back behind them so that you can rush out and flank them when we attack. I'll signal you when it's time to attack. But if it takes more than a couple minutes, something is wrong and you should come back immediately. Wait for the calm..."

[Shyftir]

Int check [roll0]

"I'm thinking we back off while Aerona gets ready to fight then we have one of us go talk to them, while the rest of us stay out of site." Calder spoke swiftly with his voice kept low. "It's particularly weird that a two of our giants sound like gutter trash and the other like a nobleman."

[QuidEst]

Collin started heading back. "Fall back then. You lot make up your mind while Aerona gets her armor on. Don't they have magic that does that? We should look at that. Stabbing or gabbing, I'm game either way."

[Navian]

Aerona nods to Colin, although she looks a bit alarmed and her smile is tight."There's magic for that. ...It's dangerous and expensive and... Let's just say it's a good thing I can't use it right now.

"I need some help putting this on; funny thing, but there's no design for plate armour that protects all the joints and still lets you reach every strap at the same time. It's even worse for non-humanoids! Then again, most of those can't reach their back in the first place... and don't have hands." She snuck off armour herself, with some covert assistance.

[Hollowpoint]

"Hm... Dangerous, expensive and saves you 10 minutes a day... Sounds like a must to me." Misaka said, sighing. "I'll help you put that on."

[Navian]

With a lot of help from Misaka, Aerona begins to don everything from her arming doublet to her couters and poleyns, all the way from her sabatons to her armet. This takes a while. "I guess the magic's less dangerous than getting ready for a fight at the last minute, when it could start anytime..."

The armour gleams in an unstealthy fashion, but she keeps her other gear propped up against or hanging from trees nearby, just in case something goes wrong. "I passed out the first time, but... to be fair, I didn't activate it on purpose and didn't know how to. I'm just lucky the magic wore off before they had to drag me outside. That stuff was hard to lift without magic."