The Thrice-Blessed IC

[Ridai]

(I'm moving this forward to the next morning. Feel free to add if Shiver does anything else after the drinking contest)

Early next morning, Shiver, Sìle, and Sirac wait in front of the south-western Bryn Shander gate, Shiver having felt the necklace she was given by Drufi activating. Beldora hands them a map on the way out of the town, depicting what path Shiver likely took when she made her first journey, going along the Sword Coast past Neverwinter, then going further inland to Triboar, and from there heading down to Waterdeep and finally Daggerford. Going to Triboar is a bit of a detour compared to just staying along the coast, but Beldora mentions the road between Neverwinter and Deepwater is currently facing troubles, especially around the Mere of Dead Men and the Sword Mountains, and circumventing those might mean an ultimately less problematic and faster trek.

Beldora also passes a note to Shiver, describing the location of a raised crypt in the Waterdeep cemetary, along with the means to enter it via a codeword. Inside, they will find a girl called Thestryl, who is part of the Harpers. Beldora knows her, so Thestryl will help them get the Harpers' assistance. She says she doesn't want to spoil the surprise.

As the group leaves the town, out into the icy cold (Sirac standing out as the only one who actually has to dress for the weather), Sìle discreetly asks Shiver "Since you know Drufi and she will be accompanying us, do you wish me to serve her much as I serve you?"

Shortly after, Sìle begins a long incantation, stretching into the minutes. Drufi arrives during it.

"The others are now on the way back. We should leave soon. Give me the necklace." Assuming Shiver gives it to Drufi, Drufi puts it on. There is a strange feeling of connection between the giantesses. Shiver feels power flowing into her, and a moment later, Drufi shrinks down to Shiver's size. "Not what I wanted that thing for originally, but it'll do. It weakened me, but it will let you recover faster. And it lets me tap into your size changing. Can't take it off anytime soon, but that shouldn't matter." Drufi hides the necklace under her clothes and patchwork armor. She looks to the chanting Sìle. "What's she doing?"

A few moments later, the question is answered when misty shapes akin to horses spring into being, four of them, sized for humans. "Our transportation. They cannot take a hit, but require no riding training and will get us to where we want to go much faster."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Shiver levels up to level 8.

[MikelaC1]

Shiver whispers back to Sile Yes, please, but let her set the pace, she has a dominate personality

Shiver regards the ghostly horses dubiously, Giants dont ride horses, especially ghost ones. But she trusts in what Sile does with her magic and mounts up on one. We are going along the Sword Coast past Neverwinter, then going further inland to Triboar, and from there heading down to Waterdeep and finally Daggerford. Going to Triboar is a bit of a detour compared to just staying along the coast but I want to duplicate my original route in hopes of finding who did this to me. Once in Waterdeep, I know of a raised crypt in the Waterdeep cemetary, and I have the means to enter it via a codeword. Inside, we will find a girl called Thestryl, who can aid us leaving out the Harper connection because of Drufi's presence. Lets ride

[Ridai]

"I am sorry. Horses are a popular shorthand for travel manifestations such as these, especially since most magic was formulated by races that tend to ride horses for travel. If it helps, these are not actually animals," Sìle says.

Drufi, meanwhile, seems as sceptical about the "horses" as Shiver does, perhaps moreso. Shiver has indicated Sìle is to be trusted, but Drufi can be a bit slow to do so, unsurprisingly for someone from a cutthroat clan as she is, without the privilege of the undisputed number one of all clanswomen. As such, she examines this creature she is supposed to ride with a critical eye.

"Tell me how reliable these things are." Drufi's voice is commanding.

"Quite so, mistress. They will not bolt, they will follow your commands without fail, and only allow us as their riders. Once you mount up and take the reins, you will find it very intuitive to steer them, even if you have not ridden a horse or similar before." Sìle patiently, respectfully answers Drufi's question.

"Now how fit for combat they are."

"They do not react to combat any different than to any other situation, thus they remain in your full control. They do not attack either. They are about as durable as the average horse, but not as much as a warhorse. Opponents, however, do tend to find it somewhat harder to connect blows with them."

"Show me how fast they are."

"Of course, mistress." Sìle mounts up on the mount meant for her, possessing a streak of blue similar to her semi-ephemeral dress. First, she shows the speed of a good riding horse for the sake of comparison, followed by the travel speed of these mounts, which is about thrice as fast, and bothered much less by somewhat treacherous ground. Sirac, having remained quiet so far, clearly mostly dealing with mentally preparing for the journey, watches with wonder, clearly never having gotten the opportunity to travel like this. "Did you find the demonstration satisfactory?"

Drufi is still skeptical about these mounts, but Shiver sees even she has to acknowledge their speed. "It will do." A beat. "Tell me why you call me mistress. I have not claimed you." Claiming refering to a part of frost giant culture. The stronger tend to claim weaker giants as their mates, or sometimes claim particularly weak creatures as their servants. The latter can even extend to other giants, if they are thoroughly beaten in duels several times over, or are otherwise particularly humiliated. Might makes right. Slavery is not that widespread a practice for frost giants, though. At times, they claim, say, human barbarian tribesmen as workers, but it is more an opportune thing (partially because of being way too unorganized as a whole) rather than a standard, organized practice like it is for fire giants, who are infamous for being especially cruel slavers in a big, bad way.

"I have sworn myself to Shiver to serve her faithfully in whatever way she desires. As you appear to share a history with my mistress, wish to restore her to her former glory at great personal risk, and have gone out of your way to spare Bryn Shander as well as Sirac, I wished to extend the same service to you, with permission by my mistress. With the caveat that Shiver's word remains the highest authority I answer to, due to my oath. I hope you understand."

Drufi looks like she is not sure what to make of this. She looks to Shiver for a moment. Her interaction with small folk has been limited, at least on friendly terms, let alone a woman who could be equal parts sorceress and courtesan. Specifically Shiver's sorceress and courtesan. If Shiver had to guess, Sìle's lack of fear underneath the open respect seems to catch Drufi off-guard.

"Does this displease you?" Sìle asks.

"No... no, it doesn't." Drufi answers, still unsure, but trying to maintain an air of authority.

Sìle smiles. "Then please do not hesitate to let me know how I may serve you." The human woman looks happy, Drufi nodding once, then turning away. Shiver gets the feeling Drufi wanted to check if this human is actually on the level. She seems satisfied for now, though clearly has been left with questions, the situation not having played out remotely like anything she expected.



With this settled, the party begins their journey. They all mount up, Shiver determining the course. The road ahead feels familiar, memory returning. She walked the last time, though perhaps riding in a wagon at times when she pleased. A long journey of nearly a thousand miles, but a relatively discreet one, as far as giants go, given her human guise. An unusual thing. A secret mission issued to a frost giantess, the only one perhaps up for such a thing.

Shiver finds she just knows how to control her mount, and as soon as she makes it go forward, it moves easily four times as fast as she would move in her giant form. The ride is stunningly smooth, the riding rhythm quite pleasant, the soundless hooves nearly gliding across the ground. Drufi, Sìle, and Sirac are with her, their mounts following hers.

The passing scenery, the feeling of being on the road, and her returning power stir old memories. The journey to Luskan had taken almost a week from Bryn Shander on foot. Time was not tight for her mission, its purpose having a timeframe of months to be fulfilled within. Success was more important than trying to do it as quickly as possible, as befits the longer (theoretical) lifespan of the frost giants, at least those few with a slightly longer perspective. Now, with these mounts, the town of Hundelstone is passed in a few mere hours, even making it to and past the crossing leading the main trade road east towards Luskan. At this rate, by the time they would make camp, they would be already halfway to the City of Sails.

At one point in the early evening sun, Drufi rides up closer to Shiver. The smooth and synchronous maneuvering and stride of the horses allows for the riders to be closer than would normally be possible (or advisable) than with regular mounts. Sìle and Sirac are riding a bit further behind, currently chatting. Sirac has been understandably nervous, given the purpose of his journey, and clearly intimidated by Drufi, so he looks glad to be able to speak to another human for a while, Sìle soothing his nerves. Perhaps it is a small mercy that being surrounded by three exceptionally beautiful women is a touch distracting for him, something he seems a bit shy about, but at least takes his mind off of his grim duty.

"How do you deal with this tiny form?" Drufi asks Shiver in their native language, moving her fingers. "Not all my strength is there anymore, and it feels only worse when I am this small. It feels... strange to talk to humans like this. At eye level. Always wondered what you got out of it."

[MikelaC1]

You dont get anything out of it. That's the whole point. You see things from their point of view. Things that you might not have understood before. You dont give into everything they say, but you understand why they say it. And you can get your point across to them as an equal, rather than someone who could bash their brains out with a single swing.

[Ridai]

As is Drufi's way, she is silent for a moment. She has plenty passion and aggression when such things are needed, but she can be surprisingly introspective at times. Much of her current views are shaped by her life in their clan, but Shiver has always had an influence on her. So while she would not just agree with Shiver right away, she has a surprisingly rare gift among frost giants: a willingness to learn.

"What sort of things did they make you understand?" Drufi asks. After a moment, she adds "That human town. They listened to you. Looked to you when we came. Even opened the gates when you told them to. But it didn't look like you claimed them. Did you gain power over them in some way in exchange for protection?"

After a moment of consideration, there is another thing Drufi does not quite understand. "Your servant." A slight head motion towards Sìle. "Did you claim her? Didn't know humans wanted to be claimed by us. Or that you wanted a sorceress to serve you."

[MikelaC1]

I do not have power over them, I have protected them in the past and they regard me as a hero and respect my words. When I presented an option of a peaceful solution to the outright slaughter that a party of frost giants would most certainly cause, they were willing to take. it.

As for Sile, when I regained consciousness after whatever was done to me to rob my memories, Sile was there. She chose to serve me willingly, from what I understand, it is in her nature to behave in such a manner. She is not claimed, she serves of her own free will. I do not fully understand it either, but she is quite skilled at what she does.

[Ridai]

Drufi does her usual "Hm." in regards to Bryn Shander, processing the behavior of the small folk, but the bit about Sìle has her give a disbelieving look, like she was told something utterly alien.

"In her nature to serve- what?" Drufi looks back to Sìle briefly, who is still chatting with Sirac, then back to Shiver. "That's insane. I know most small folk can't put up a real fight, but is she cursed?" Drufi looks like she was just told someone suffered permanent brain damage, the notion just utterly alien to the frost giantess for whom submission has to be earned through victory, and the right for it repeatedly reaffirmed so no weakling leads those stronger than them. Not just... freedom given up without a fight or need, with access to sorcerous power no less.

Feeling she has had quite enough in regards to making inquiries about the ass-backwards world of the small folk, Drufi continues the ride in relative silence.


As the sun begins to set and the duration of their mounts is approaching its end, they find a decent spot to make camp a bit away from the road. There is no convenient inn nearby, but that is hardly a hindrance. As Shiver dismounts, she hears some chatter about their travel means (Sirac, excitedly: "It is like riding the wind! We could already be in Luskan by tomorrow!". Sìle: "It is a personal favorite. No risk of saddle sores makes traveling so much nicer." Drufi: "It wasn't... bad."). She quickly locates a suitable camp location under an overhang, Sìle setting up her tent with practiced (and magically assisted) speed.

"There we are! Please enter in human size, mistresses," Sìle announces, standing beside the tent that looks like it would be cozy for two people. Drufi looks skeptical. "Are you sleeping outside?" To which Sìle cheerfully responds with "Oh, of course not, there is more than enough room for all of us. I'll make a fire and prepare dinner soon."

Clearly not satisfied with the answer, Drufi enters the tent, coming out a few moments later, followed by looking at the outside of the tent in confusion. Sìle is the very picture of understanding, so as to not bruise her second mistress' ego as she learns about extra-dimensional spaces, while Sirac does his best to appear sagely and pretend he clearly knows what that tent is (while trying to suppress a furious blush at the notion of sharing a tent with the three of them).

Shiver discovers the inside of the tent is a little bigger than she remembers, perhaps growing with Sìle's power, perhaps adjusting to its guests. Once through the human-sized tent flap, she has just enough headroom and space to stand up in her current giant form as well as lie down on one of the two giant-sized "beds" of cushions (luring Shiver with their comforts). Shiver would not call it spacious, but not cramped either. Just enough to be comfortable. A small "fireplace" of sorts is there, cloth dividers between the beds if a little more privacy is desired, two human-sized cots off to the side, the tent softly illuminated by various colorful spheres hanging from the ceiling, connected by flower garlands, like an artistic facsimile of the nightsky.

As people settle in, Drufi announces "I'll go out hunting. Too much sitting around on ghost horses, and I want meat for dinner." She expects to hunt alone, but there is always the unspoken invitation for Shiver to join her if she wants to. Sadly, she doesn't get to take many steps outside before Shiver sees a large boulder slamming into the ground outside. Looking around, Drufi spots something, and sighs, mostly in irritation. "We got hill giants," she says, with no shortage of derision in her voice.

Outside (Sìle asks Sirac to stay inside for now), Shiver sees four hill giant men about 100ft away. Ugly, with filthy loincloths under massive pot bellies, carrying the tree trunks they use as clubs, laughing at whatever game they just made up involving throwing rocks at a tent. She hears "You bad, har har har!" and "Think food there?" in the hill giants' usual butchering of the giant language. Perhaps irritatingly, when at their current max size, Shiver and Drufi are still just a foot shy of the 16 feet tall full-size hill giants, whose eyes grow very big indeed at the sight. "Womans!" One of them shouts with obvious lecherous tones, given the two giantesses are smaller than them. And spotting the "tiny" Sìle, another one says "Snacks!"

Joyful laughter from the hill giants, raising their clubs, sure this will be a great evening for them. Drufi's hand tightens around the shaft of her axe. Sìle looks up to Shiver, wordlessly asking whether she should open fire or enhance Shiver in any way. Both are waiting for Shiver's course of action.

(The four hill giants are currently distracted by cheering, ogling, and hunger. Whatever Shiver plans to do, she probably has a handful of rounds or so to make it happen. Attacking will, naturally, begin the fight. Shiver is just shy of charge distance at this very moment, but moving closer non-threateningly would easily put her there.)

[MikelaC1]

In response, Shiver picks up a rock, and fires back at the giants.

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+7)[13] attack & (1d6+8)[10] (if STR applies to rock throws)

[Ridai]

Shiver throws the rock, but it misses the mark, slamming into the ground near the hill giants. As Sìle is not close to the target, she is unable to assist. The hill giants start laughing, beginning to hurl back insults at them, making Drufi grit her teeth and get ready to charge, but evidently, the words directed at Shiver stung Sìle more. Her blue energy dress glows as her body flows forward, thrusting her fist towards the hill giants, sending a blue fireball into their midst, where it erupts violently, burning the offending creatures. None truly escape the flames, but through literal dumb luck, two of them are less burned than their brethren. However, even with the magical fury inflicted upon them, they are still giants. None of them have yet reached the halfway point of their endurance. Another spell is intoned as Sìle begins to fly up and forward, and suddenly, Shiver and Drufi feel like bodies move and react much faster. Sìle stumbles, Shiver instinctively feeling through their bond her love for the giantess(es?) allowed her to achieve new heights of magical power, but she also is not yet used to bringing this much to bear.

In response, the hill giants shout, with the two more burned ones and one of the luckier ones charging towards them, but naturally not reaching them, blinded with anger due to their charred hides. All of them are more or less next to each other, but one goes for Shiver, one for Drufi, and one for Sìle. The remaining "lucky" one shouts obscenities at Sìle before throwing another boulder, aimed straight at her in blind retaliation. Fortunately, for all their strength, hill giants are lousy shots, so the gigantic piece of stone plucked straight from the ground does not connect with the still very much human-sized Sìle.

Drufi, meanwhile, moves to engage, intercepting the hill giants coming for Shiver and her (the one going for Sìle is on the opposite side), bringing her axe down onto the one going after Shiver, hacking deep, making the hill giant howl in anger and pain.

Spoiler: OOC

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Please be advised that Shiver's damage with her greatsword should be +16 (8 x 1.5 Str + 2 greatsword + Weapon Specialization). Also two of those slow-ass giants rolled some remarkable Reflex saves, damn.

Shiver's turn. Sìle hasted the party. Three hill giants are 40ft away from Shiver, the last one is 100ft away throwing boulders. Shiver can move to engage either the left and center hill giant [going after Sìle and Shiver, respectively], or center and right [Shiver and Drufi].

Enemy status: left hill giant [vs Sìle] is lightly wounded, center [vs Shiver] is heavily wounded, right [vs Drufi] is moderately wounded. Throwing giant is lightly wounded.

[MikelaC1]

Shiver moves into battle against the central giant, hoping to eliminate a target and show Drufi she can still take care of herself. She flies into her characteristic barbarian rage as she does so, trying to make sure the target does down.

Spoiler: Rolla

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(1d20+19)[21] attack & (2d6+18)[22] damage
(1d20+19)[24] attack & (2d6+18)[24] damage
(1d20+19)[29] attack & (2d6+18)[25] damage

Edit: Forgot to add increased STR to attack rolls so those attack numbers are each 2 higher. Damage rolls are correct

[Ridai]

Shiver may have missed with the throw before, but now she moves into the fray and shows why she is the best. The hill giant can't even react to the fury of her first strike carving into him before she just outright splits him open with a shower of blood. And at that point, she is not even done, her blade carrying through and carving into the hill giant going for Sìle. With the size of the combatants, for a human, it looks like just waves of blood splash the ground. Drufi had moved to protect Shiver given her importance, but Shiver's message has been received loud and clear. Not only that, but Shiver, for a brief moment, sees that familiar expression on her face whenever they fought in battle side by side, or when Shiver ultimately beat Drufi in every single of their sparring matches (whether the fight was close or not). In this moment, drenched in the blood of her enemies in the heat of battle, driven by unparalleled fury, Shiver is (in Drufi's eyes) the ideal all other frost giantesses wish they could achieve. A smile plays around the corners of Drufi's mouth, seeing even in her weakened state, Shiver's still got it.

Not to be outdone (entirely), Drufi attacks her own target with vicious strikes, proving why she firmly claimed and defended the second place among their clan's women. People like to think of axes as big lumbering weapons, but Drufi makes her gigantic weapon look frighteningly quick, especially while under Sìle's spell, opening her enemy's defenses up with sudden strikes, footwork, and surprise jabs and tackles. In the end, the hill giant still stands, unable to finish it off and keep going like Shiver did, but the creature is left a bloody mess.

Knowing the warrior's pride of the giantesses, Sìle focuses her attention on the more distant giant to draw his fire. Weaving her hands in the air, she shapes two sizzling green orbs out of nothingness and has them spiral towards the giant, causing him to scream as they easily connect with his massive frame, eating into him.

Retaliation follows swiftly. The distant giant throws a boulder at the flying woman to get rid of the annoying gnat, but has no chance of actually hitting her. However, Sìle does not want to take the risk of the severely badly aimed projectile to hit Shiver, Drufi, or the tent, so she draws on her magic to intercept the boulder, summoning a momentary invisible field it shatters against. Meanwhile, the giants in melee range are driven into mindless fury, the one who originally went after Sìle instead going for Shiver. The wild swings are laughable for her, easily blocking both with her swordplay. On Drufi's side of things, one whack connects, and while it may have turned the average human villager into fine paste or put a decent dent into Sìle, Drufi tanks it and keeps going, narrowly stepping around the second strike thanks to the edge granted by the haste spell.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shiver's turn. Drufi is only superficially injured compared to her maximum HP. The center hill giant is dead. The left hill giant is heavily wounded. The right hill giant is near death. The distant hill giant is moderately wounded. Due to her space and reach, Shiver can engage the right giant before or during her action with a 5ft step, if she wants to.

[MikelaC1]

Just as Drufi respected Shiver's warrior pride, Shiver will do the same and not attack the one giant she was dealing with, moving on to engage the last one who approached them. Her rage is still active and her blade falls with methodical precision

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+21)[34] attack & (2d6+18)[25] damage
(1d20+21)[32] attack & (2d6+18)[24] damage
(1d20+16)[18] attack & (2d6+18)[27] damage

[Ridai]

Even before Drufi can finish off her almost dead target, Shiver dissects hers with swift strikes. Seeing his friends getting decimated by the women, the distant hill giant seems to start reconsidering his life choices (slowgoing as that is for his kind), allowing Sìle to pour a lot of magic into finishing him just barely. Shiver gets the impression that one was the runt of the pack.

"Hill giants this far out. Didn't think they'd dare to get this close to frost giant territory," Drufi notes as she offers a fist bump to Shiver. "Dire times. Or endless stupidity. Anyway, I'll go hunt us dinner." Though Shiver just demonstrated her utter dominance in battle, Drufi does have one area of expertise where she can claim to exceed Shiver: hunting, be it on land or for whales. Not that it matters much in frost giant society. Unless one hunts big game, it is just a pastime or menial task, true glory lying in battle, raids, and victory. And being a woman in her particular clan, there is little respect gained for her prowess in the matter, at least from males.

"A moment, please, mistress," Sìle asks Drufi, landing as light as a feather on the ground before the giantess. "Could I see your hand for a moment?" Drufi frowns for a moment, but holds her hand down to the comparatively small woman. Gently, Sìle grasps it and kisses the palm. Shiver watches Drufi's few wounds mend, along with a surprised expression from the giantess.

"That wasn't necessary. And I didn't ask for it," Drufi answers, with a hint of sharpness in her voice. Shiver knows that reaction. The feeling of being underestimated, treated as frail. "My apologies, mistress. But you allowed me to serve you as I serve Shiver. And it is my duty to see to your wellbeing, no matter how serious or small the matter. It is the least I could do for women without compare such as yourselves." Sìle's smile is positively disarming. Drufi opens her mouth, but closes it again, looking down at Sìle.

"I'm going hunting," Drufi says again, moving past them to the nearby copse. "Of course. I will make dinner preparations in the meantime," Sìle answers, with a bow towards Drufi as she passes. Turning to Shiver, Sìle looks ever radiant, if perhaps a little tired from the expenditure of magic.

"I admit, I was a little worried, facing four of giantkind, even though it is my understanding they are the lowest among them. But once again, my expectations were thoroughly shattered. You were amazing." She smiles up to the giantess. "Would you like a quick magical cleaning, or do you prefer a bath?" Sìle asks, motioning towards the blood Shiver is covered in. Plenty of baths were had during the leisurely voyage in the tower, enhanced by Sìle's flawless service, but she prefers asking how things look like on the road. "If you could let me know Drufi's preference, as well as perhaps help me drag the corpses together as a pile so I can burn them, I would be most thankful. Digging graves would take awfully long, and leaving such large carcasses to rot by the road would be unfortunate."

[MikelaC1]

Hill giants barely qualify as giants, more like overgrown ogres. Shiver has little more than contempt for their assailants. She spends the few minutes needed to drag the corpses together to let Sile do her thing. I think that for the moment, we should stick to magical cleanings. Drufi and I have a complicated relationship and I dont want make things awkward until I sort out exactly where we stand
After the giant corpses are moved, Shiver waits for Drufi to return with her prizes, knowing her prowess in hunting. When she spots the giantess, she helps her bring the meat into camp, helping her to skin and prep the carcasses for Sile to cook. As they work, she talks to Drufi. Sile did not mean anything by using her healing on you, as I said, its what she does. I dont even notice it anymore when she heals me. And its not an admission of weakness or frailty, on the contrary, it just makes us ready for more battles. Theres nothing worse than being forced to retreat from a battle to overwhelming grievous wounds from old fights....except for being an idiot like Shhalt and keep on fighting with half your body ripped open and wondering why you fall moments later.

[Ridai]

Sìle chuckles at the comment on the hill giants. "A certain similarity is undeniable." As Shiver drags the bodies onto a pile and Sìle incinerates them to ashes, she looks up to the giantess as Shiver's relationship with Drufi is mentioned. "Would you like to talk about it, and how you feel about her?"


Returning to the tent, Sìle lets Sirac know everything is alrightm the man visibly reliefed, if a little ashamed he could not help, clearly outclassed. Sìle makes the cooking station swell in size, given a dinner for giantesses is to be prepared, heating water and gathering ingredients for a hearty stew. Drufi soon returns, a deer under each arm. More than enough to eat well. "It'll do," she simply comments what she got.

Using a relatively flat and wide rock as their "table" to prep the meat (Sìle dutifully cleans the surface with magic beforehand), since while the tent has room, two giants and someone else going through all sorts of kitchen production is probably a bit much, Shiver and Drufi go to work, having little trouble. Drufi has knives for this sort of thing ready as well. "First time for everything, huh?" she says. In regards to having the meat cooked. The overwhelming majority of frost giants deem a fresh kill more than warm and ready enough to eat and the most cooking that is done is thawing thoroughly frozen meat (if even that), but Shiver has told her about the, ah, cuisine of the small folk before (and possibly having developed a taste for it. Bacon may or may not be involved?).

Drufi briefly stops as Shiver explains the healing. She doesn't meet Shiver's gaze before continuing her work. "Sorry. Old habits." Someone needing a healer, in many cases, is often seen as a weakling (for not being able to walk it off) or coward (for being afraid of death), regardless of it making sense to get one or not. There is some degree of hypocrisy in the matter when you get into the higher echelons, but asking someone if they need a healer after a duel or sparring is asking for a bloody nose at the least in many cases. "Reminded me of the women back home that bought into the status quo. They can't help but assume a wounded woman must require healing." Thus turning themselves into unwitting dispensers of shame, reinforcing the jarl's "values", continuing the cycle. Something Shiver rarely ever experienced herself, given her combat dominance.

Drufi sighs. It's wisdom coming from Shiver. It's not easily brushed off for her. "I'll try to be better about it." A beat. "Shhalt'd been a lost cause, though. Won a duel against him once by holding my axe out and having him run into it because he thought I'd pull it back or flinch in the face of his manly charge. Then wanted a rematch, got blood in his eyes, stumbled, fell on his sword." Drufi snickers. "An inspiration to us all."

Spoiler: OOC

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I see Shhalt/Shake is also around. What is Shiver's relation to her in this game, and what is she generally up to/like in Thrice-Blessed?

Misunderstanding cleared up

[MikelaC1]

Ha, ha, ha. Or the time he challenged me, ran at me at full tilt, I just sidestepped him and tripped him with my sword as he went by, he crashed so hard he knocked himself out...HA...how can anyone meet his end on a hill giants club. What a turd.

[Ridai]

"Heh." Drufi raises a faux-reprimanding hand, speaking in solemn tones. "But now now, we shouldn't call him names. After all, he heroically defeated the greatest danger to our clan at the cost of his life."

A beat.

"Himself. May his soul forever enjoy its place in Thrym's halls for his great deed. Right inside the divine latrine." Drufi remains straightfaced for about two seconds before cracking up.

Preparing the meat goes by quick as they trade stories. Inside, Sìle has the large pot going, Sirac helping prepare ingredients as directed by the maid. "Ah, immaculate timing. Please put the meat bowl over there." Much of the meat is cut into decently sized chunks, briefly putting them into a large pan to give some color on the sides before they go in the stew. "Is all that really necessary?" Drufi still not sold about the whole cooking thing, but she promised to try and be better, so she bites her tongue from then on out.

A bit later, the stew is declared ready. Since Sìle had some magic left for the day, she used it on making dinner, and thus, it is simply divine. Drufi eyes the stew a bit suspiciously at first, tastes it a few times. "...Okay, gotta admit. I'm coming around to cooked meals." It took a bit of doing, but she got there. And she is taking seconds. As far as Sìle is concerned, she just enjoys her mistresses and her guest enjoying her handiwork. She and Sirac just stick to human portions, leaving the vast majority to the giantesses.

---------------

The next day, the ride continues, after Drufi had a quick sparring warm-up with Shiver in the morning, feeling like she is getting pampered too much and needs something to balance that (naturally, she loses the bout, then gets pampered more when she has the sweat she had going on magically cleaned to get her ready for travel). The weather is overcast, but progress is made quickly, as the surrounding landscape whips by them, even passing the occasional travelers. In the afternoon, they arrive at Luskan, northernmost major port of the Sword Coast. As grandiose as the title of "City of Sails" sounds, it is anything but, closer to a filthy dive full of scum and villainy. Shiver remembers the squat buildings, the ramshackle port, and the only very thin polite illusion of pirates acting like "traders". But it is the right place to get a ship without any questions, if you have the gold. Over the general stench and the fog hanging over the city right now, the tower of the Arcane Brotherhood reaches towards the sky. When she was first here, Shiver almost mistook it for a giant leafless tree with how it expands into several thinner spires towards the top.

"Sirac, please always stay close to us. Mistress Drufi, please do not assume giant size while in a small folk settlement or within viewing distance of it, unless it absolutely becomes necessary, of course. People tend to be jumpy at the sudden appearance of a giant in town, and here in Luskan, it would be best to avoid the gaze of the Arcane Brotherhood."

Something else also rises into the sky, however. The unmistakable sight of smoke from a big fire, situated where Shiver remembers the port.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Feel free to continue the scene with Drufi if you'd like. Also, does Shiver tell Sìle anything in regards to Sìle's question from last post?

[MikelaC1]

Shiver eyes the smoke suspiciously. We've got problems, hopefully it doesnt delay your departure. Shiver leads the way to see if they can aid in fire suppression.

[Ridai]

Heading to the port, Shiver sees a mixture of some activity because of what appears to be happening at the port, but just as many do not seem to care particularly much. The group draws a lot of eyes, Drufi and Sìle already being remarkably beautiful women, but Shiver being phenomenally so, meaning a lot of men and women ogle her, with a few particularly brave people whistling or cat calling (from what they deem a safe distance). A loose group of people, growing and dwindling, follows them part of the way, showering them (but particularly Shiver) with plentiful compliments in the hopes of buying them drinks, or invite them to various establishments ranging from relatively mundane to brothels.

When they reach the port, they are greeted by the aftermath of a lot of destruction, at the center of it being a burning and frost giant greatship. There are several mostly sunken or still sinking shipwrecks, looking like the massive greatship simply rammed them on the way to the harbor, in some cases just shattering them. Charred frost giant corpses float in the frigid water around the greatship, and are scattered across the blasted deck. On the port, several people are standing and sitting, just watching the ship burn. Shiver overhears mention of waiting for the fire to die down to loot what is left on the ship. What little is left of the sails shows the colors and rune of Storvald's clan. Elsewhere in the port, there are still a few longboats that look like they managed to escape the carnage caused by the giants.

Drufi sees the clan colors. "Storvald absorbed many of our surrounding clans once you were gone. Snowballed right over them before they knew what was going on, dueled and either killed or enslaved the other jarls. I knew we're strong, but didn't expect that working out. Had help by human mages too. Guess he let some of our raiders cut loose."

"Educated guess says they ran into a wall of fireballs and weren't prepared for magic," Sìle says, subtle motion towards the Arcane Brotherhood tower overlooking the port.

Shiver knows her clan wasn't exactly small to begin with, but if what Drufi says is true, a rough estimation of the strength of the various clans around them in the Icewind Dale, the Spine of the World, and the Sea of Moving Ice, their clan is now massive, easily the dominant frost giant force of the Savage Frontier, and it would not be particularly close. Losing these raiders would have been unfortunate before, but this group would just be one of many now.

[MikelaC1]

More important than ever that we get you out of town, and as soon as possible. Shiver leads the way into the dock area, trying to steer away from the people gawking at the carnage and towards those who might still have a viable ship.

[Ridai]

Making their way over to where the more intact ships are, the carnage thankfully provides enough distractions to move about without much of a following this time around. There are a few longboats that could fit the bill (well, if they are heading south, that is), and taking a look at what is available and asking around, they find a relatively sizeable ship called the Midnight Gale. From the looks of it, the captain runs a tight ship, so Shiver is fairly certain that with the right price, they could put Sirac on there and secure his way at least a good bit south. The price, however, may or may not turn out to be sizeable, and the captain has a reputation for being a hard negotiator.

As they are looking around, Shiver suddenly hears a whistle. Looking around, she spots a flamboyant tiefling woman looking down at them, horns curling under her wide-brimmed and feathered hat. She stands on the bridge of a ship called the Red Siren's Call, smaller and less robust than the Midnight Gale, but sleek in its design. "You ladies look like you're ready for a wild night in town, braving storms and bashing heads out on the sea, or both. Either way, Nisha can provide," she says, leaning her chin on a hand, giving an easy smirk. "I'll even let you bring your little tag-along. You'd love that, hm, sweety?" The last bit is directed at Sirac, Nisha giving him quite the look and miming a quick kiss, successfully making him blush. Nisha's tail lazily moves behind her as she awaits an answer.

(As always, you can also ask Drufi and Sìle for their input on the matter, or if you want them to do something for Shiver.)

[MikelaC1]

Before starting to negotiate with either captain, Shiver turns to Sirac, whispering The tieflling is likely to be cheaper than the other boat, but are you okay with riding with a tiefling?

[Ridai]

Sirac thinks about it for a moment. "I mean, I haven't met many of them, but they aren't all bad, are they?" he asks, glancing to Nisha who wiggles her fingers at them. "She seems, uh, not averse to trouble, either, and pretty interested in you, so maybe that's better than someone just taking this on as a job that might get too dangerous for them?" He shrugs. It's a gamble, but he looks like he feels both sides are a gamble, just... different ones.

[MikelaC1]

Remember I wont be going with you

[Ridai]

"I know, but... maybe you are convincing enough to have her see this through? Pirate's honor, if that is actually a thing? I am not much good in negotiations, sadly."

[MikelaC1]

Captain NIsha, myself and my friend pointing to Drufi will be staying here in Luskan, but my other friend, Sirac, needs safe transport as far south as you are able to provide, hopefully arriving in one piece. Can you provide that, and what would the price be?

[Ridai]

Nisha grins. "Ooh, getting out of dodge, eh? Come to my cabin and we'll hash out how much it'll be for taking your little friend away."

Assuming Shiver and friends agree, they get onto the ship and into the captain's cabin, filled with what Shiver identifies as trophies from several adventures, as well as a few luxuries. The place looks like Nisha loves living her best life.

In her armchair behind her desk, Nisha awaits them, boots on the desk, framed by the light of the rear windows. The blood-red orbs that are her eyes examine all of them closely, clearly liking what she sees as they enter. Nisha herself is on the wilder side of the swashbuckling captain ideal. There is a sense of danger to her, yet mixed with effortless charm.

"Make yourselves comfortable. Drinks?" Nisha says, making a wide gesture to the chairs near her desk and the collection of bottles towards one side. If Shiver seats herself, Sìle remains standing to the side and a step behind her. Drufi takes another seat, but sits with her elbows on her knees, ever ready for action at a moment's notice. Sirac takes a third chair, squirming a little bit as Nisha thoroughly examines him with bemused intrigue.

"So," she begins, looking to Shiver. "let's get to the juicy bits. How much trouble is our sweetheart here in, hm?" This... seems a bit unusual, directly asking a question like that, however it is followed by "I hope it's spicy!"

[MikelaC1]

Shiver looks over the collection of alcohol, selecting the one that seems the most potent, and pours herself a drink, which she downs in one shot. If it has enough potency for her palette, she brings it with her to the chair, and sits herself. The frost giant horde think our friend is someone he isnt, and want to kill him for something he doesnt have. We have to get him as far south as possible to misdirect them so we can work unobstructed in the north and get what they think he does have. She pours herself a second shot and downs it.

[Ridai]

Nisha quirks a bemused eyebrow. "Really now? And here I thought I'd get the usual fare of affairs with some official's daughter or having shanked someone important. Now you got my attention. The price just went down." She was about to reach for a bottle, but instead she sits up, elbows on the desk. Drufi is unsure what to make of this tiefling, Sìle appears at ease.

"So, I'll have the North's frost giants on my tail? What's got all of them this worked up that all of them want it?" Nisha looks straight at Shiver, unwaveringly, like she is about to get the choicest bit about this whole endeavor.

[MikelaC1]

A third shot. You wont have them on your tail for some time. The horde ran into him in Bryn Shandar so they have to go home from there, have an disorganized brawl to determine order of precedence about who is in charge of the next mission and then start moving. What they are looking for is the Ring of Winter. You just got an example of how strong Storvald has gotten and what forces he can just toss away for nothing, imagine him getting a hold of that little trinket.