They are ash giants. Tristain realizes somehow he knows literally everything about them.
"Ash giants," Starflit murmurs, thinking aloud. "Not inherently evil, like that girtablilu we saw earlier, but tending toward violence and even cruelty. This seems like a harsh place to survive; that likely breeds harsh folk who dwell in these lands. Perhaps the two creatures live in perpetual war with one another over the area's sparse resources. But we seek a much greater, more dangerous evil in Lowls."
Kyffin agrees with Starflit, "Yeah, Starflit is right. No sense in getting wrapped up in every local squabble. Let's focus on our objectives."
He'll keep flying.
Tristain is happy to avoid big ass giants and follows along. He’s smart enough to want to avoid trouble, unlike some puffy-headed clouds also in the sky.
Continuing on, the Parchlands pass in a rush below you, their seeming sameness growing tiresome, and making you glad you don't need to trudge over them on camel. After a time, you spot something breaking up the sameness -- a trio of massive scorpionoid figures: girtablilus! They don't seem to have noticed you.
Whether or not Tristain notes the girtablilus is uncertain. He certainly isn’t saying anything, but maybe because that he’s full of air at the moment, but also because he hopes no one else decides to pick a random fight with big scary monsters.
Bored out of his skull, and tired of passing up bad guys to kill, Lothan decides to land 110 feet away from the scorpion-looking beasts. Pulling out his bow, and nocking an arrow, he pulls back on the string and aims directly for one of the monstrosities.
Holding his shot for a moment, "Okay, ladies and gents, it's time to put a little excitement in our lives! Step right up! Come one, come all! Who wants to kill the big freaking scorpion beasts?! Anybody?! Anybody?! You sir?! Well, come on then! Grab your bow and arrow and fire away!" Lothan commentates to himself, finding himself quite humorous as his fingers slowly begin to slide off of the bowstring...
"Hold your fire." Kyffin cautions Lothan, "They may not be evil as such. Let's talk to them for I too am tired of spinning past empty dunes."
He'll solidify behind a dune and then crawl/walk atop it - waiving at the scorpion like beasts.
Once they notice him, he'll start walking toward them with his arms out and carrying no weapons in a sign of peace. He looks to silver-tongued Al to lead the negotiations.
Starflit lands and takes up a position about 15 feet behind Kyffin and a bit to his right, ready to invoke judgments if the scorpion-people get hostile. Or play ranged starknife pinball if that's what's in the cards.
Tristain will reluctantly join the team in solid form, but will still be afloat and somewhat back from the obvious threat that Lothan is inviting.
The trio seems surprised to see you, but with Kyffin's cautious approach, they head toward you with similar apparently willingness to talk -- though their tails clearly mean they're not at all unarmed or unable to strike back quickly should you prove treacherous. One keeps a close eye on Lothan.
The other, a woman, takes a step forward. "Hello, strangers, you have entered territory claimed by the Ulkori girtablilu band," she says. "You clearly have great endurance and persistence to travel so far into the Parchlands, and to come here unseen, but you should turn back and return whence you came."
She looks over you and notes your apparent lack of supplies.
"We can give you enough food and water to retrace your steps out of the desert."
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Tristain remains watchful and alert, hoping that Al or Kyffin will do the talking as they might avoid unnecessary hostilities, provocations, outright mockery, or sexual advances.
’Hey baby, what’s your sign? Scorpio? I thought so.’ Or ‘Hey baby, you look like you have a little human in you? What? No, you don’t? Would you like some?’ Is exactly what *someone* might say to ruin everything.
He will stay back, still and yet.
"In our travels we've seen some strange sights," Starflit begins carefully. "We passed a pair of obelisks that warned vaguely of a 'slumbering evil' in these lands. We also bypassed a pair of ash giants just lumbering along. Can they be trusted to be civil...or are they best avoided altogether?"
The inquisitor invokes her discern lies ability before the girtabilu answers.
“The giants are reckless and cruel. They care nothing for the history of this land, and they revere neither the past nor life itself,” she replies to Starflit.
Starflit nods to the scorpion woman. "I have some bad news to tell you," she continues grimly. "One of your people was impaled on one of the obelisks I mentioned. I'm not sure if they were of your band or another, but if yours is missing a member or searching for one...you have our sympathy."
"Hold your fire." Kyffin cautions Lothan, "They may not be evil as such. Let's talk to them for I too am tired of spinning past empty dunes."
He'll solidify behind a dune and then crawl/walk atop it - waiving at the scorpion like beasts.
Once they notice him, he'll start walking toward them with his arms out and carrying no weapons in a sign of peace. He looks to silver-tongued Al to lead the negotiations.
With a sly grin, Lothan slowly cuts his eyes toward the half-orc and takes a deep breath through his nose before returning to the bowstring to its original position and lowering his bow. "You got it, big guy. I'll let this play out however y'all want it to play out; but if they come across as threatening in any way, I'm filling them full of sticks."
Kyffin waits for Al to speak.
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Al wakes from a lazy slumber in the warm air to the site of Lothan grinning suspiciously and Tristain clearly having nothing to bonk on within a mile. Well, this doesn't look good
Al gently forms out of the wind and air at the front of the party. "Forgive our trespass, we are just traveling through on a great, long journey, and we'll out of your skies quickly. We'll respect your lands and air, may we have your permission to continue our windy journey?"
"Maybe also ask who put the obelisk there, and what it means to them, also if there are any dangers or walls ahead. I could use a stout wall," Tristain whispers some follow up questions.
"These lands are sacred to the Ulkori," Akshar replies, "And you do not have our permission to pass. It is our duty to protect what lies within. By doing so, we protect the rest of the world.”
As Al translates Tristain's question, she nods. "This is the work of my people. As we said, these are our sacred lands, and it is dangerous for trespassers." She looks concerned with Starflit's report.
"It was likely the work of an ash giant, or some other such danger. The giants especially are reckless and cruel. They care nothing for the history of this land, and they revere neither the past nor life itself."
"I'm sorry. We are pursuing a great evil. We must catch him, and end his evil ways." He looks them over, "I'm sorry, but I don't think you can stop him. We've been hunting him for a long time now and are beginning, as you might imagine, to know our quarry."
"You'd be starting from scratch. You wouldn't find him in time." Kyffin will go on and tell them about the evils of Lowls and the Necronomicon.
(to let us by)
"My friends speak true, this man has trespassed into your lands and we are pursuing him. I pledge to you that we will remove this trespasser from your territory and respect your history and life in the process. We will do all we can to remove this trespasser quickly and without incident if possible. Please, may we pass with your permission"
She seems concerned about Kyffin's words about Lowls, but also dubious about letting you continue.
Starflit pleads for the girtablilu to let the party pass, chipping in her own reasons why Lowls must be stopped.
Know (Local)
Tristain offers some ideas about how to accomplish their pursuit while honoring traditions.
She considers for a moment, and then relents.
"Very well," she says. "I shall tell my people that you are permitted -- but not welcome -- to travel our lands. Beware the cursed city that lies several days from here. Within it slumbers a terrible evil that we have watched for ages, and it stirs once more. It is best that none wake it entirely, lest it cast its shadow across other lands. Should you emerge from the shattered streets showing signs of its influence, know that I shall personally destroy you so that you do not spread its curse.”
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Starflit nods solemnly to the girtablilu woman. "Fair enough," she says. "The man we chase has left a path of destruction behind him, so we'll do our best to stop him before he can unleash more terrors on your land. Can you tell us more of the sleeping evil you guard and the curse it threatens to bring upon us? Forewarned is forearmed, as they say."
"Yeah, totally fair. No spreading curses. Got it."
Kyffin nods along with the reasonable woman. He too likes Starflit's questions. Always thinking.
"It is possible we have encountered this man," she says after a moment. "One of our patrols tried to stop a group such as yours, bound along this same path. The trespassers did not heed our warnings but responded with violence. I found the corpses of my kin scattered across the stones, and we learned their story when our sandspeaker communed with their spirits. The trespassers’ tracks led to the most sacred site where we are forbidden to travel. I hope they perished before they could do greater harm.”
She ponders Starflit's question. "We do not journey there, following the tales of our ancestors. I know there are ruins there, but they hold no treasure, no adventure, no glory—only death.” She won't speak anymore specifically about what you may find ahead.
"Yeah, that's the guy," Tristain finally pipes up, but not very loudly. "That's the one we need to end. Very much. For spreading curses not only in this realm, but the realm of dreams as well."
"Our condolences for your tribe's loss. Thank you for the permission to pass, and we will avenge your patrol. We will take care to not release the great evil. May you fare well." Al starts shifting back to his 'lazy cloud in warm air' form and wonders about the magics needed to sleep like that every evening.
Kyffin too mist-ifies and continues on to find Lowls.
She bids you farewell -- though her two companions look dubious about your chances -- and you continue on. After a short time (but a long distance), you notice a pair of ash giants trudging through the wilderness. They look like they're looking for something.
Not that Tristain is an angry man, or even a man really, but he tries to be a caring man in this cloud form, but he seems worried for whatever the giants are looking for and wonders if he can spot it from above.
Perception
Kyffin slows and talks to the other 'clouds' high in the sky. "They're looking for something. Could be hired by Lowls. Could be they're looking for him. Either way, I feel the urge to check it out."
He looks back down. Then he points.
"We could reform behind that dune there. They'd walk right into us if they keep on their current path and we can question them, and likely take them out."
"What do you think?" He asks the group.
Tristain doesn't see anything obvious that they could be looking for.
"I suppose it'd be a good idea to get their side of the story," Starflit whispers, sounding a bit worried about confronting such huge potential foes.
"Let's see if we can find what they're looking for from our cloudy advantage, shouldn't take more than a minute or two if we spread out."
Kyffin flies around looking to see what he can find.
...if you want a roll. Kyffin will take his time in his zone searching the ground though - long enough to take 20 (for a 32).
Grinning devilishly at the thought of taking out these giants, Lothan's grin fades instantly when Starflit decides on a different avenue. "Fine. We'll go with 'looking' around for whatever," he complains, clearly annoyed at the boringness of that option. "Just give me a second. If it's out there, I'll find it." Lothan then takes a moment to see if he can spot anything that might spark an interest to these giants.
Tristain tries to espy with his cloudy eyes again.
Perception
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Seeing nothing from the sky, you carefully land and approach the two giants, who seem somewhat startled at your appearance. They look you up and down, one of them squinting, before talking to each other.
"Are these the ones she wants?" one asks.
"I think so. But they all kind of look alike. I don't know how you're supposed to tell what they really look like when they're so small. It'd be easier if they were bigger!"
"Yeah, but how many of them could there be?"
The second one shrugs and turns back to the five of you.
"Oy! You lot! You're the ones we're looking for, right?"
Tristain, with a bit of a distance (and the rest of the party) between himself and the giants, looks like he doesn't want to be closer. In fact, he scoots back a few feet.
That way any blood splatter from any mouthy archers getting smashed by rocks or clubs around won't get on his clean tunic.
He will wait for Al or someone to respond. He doesn't think he wants to be found by whomever 'she' is.
Kyffin smiles. As he approached, he would have had his scimitar out - assuming that a show of force is all these giants will understand. He replies, "That depends. Who are you looking for, and who sent you? Tell us that, and we'll tell you if we're the ones you're looking for."
"Can't say that's not fair. It doesn't get fairer than that. So, who are you looking for and who sent you?" He asks again, figuring the train of thought of either of these brutes never quite left the station.
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"Oy, what was it she said we was looking for, Lurrohak? Five shorties, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. A proper pack of 'em, it were, Oaag."
"Right. There are five of you, yeah?" Lurrohak looks you over, counting on his fingers. "Yeah, the one girl one, what likes to dress all in black, an old one that might not smell so good, one who's a bit of a nutter, one who talks a lot and --"
"The charred one!" Lurrohak interjects. "All burned up nice and proper." He squints as he looks over you. "I don't think this is them. None of them are proper burnt up. I mean, maybe we burn one of 'em, and then we can bring 'em back and show her what we found."
"No, you idiot," Oaag replies. "She didn't say charred true. Chartreuse. He's green. And that one there looks plenty green. About to sick up like he as a scorpion guy 'oo saw us comin' for 'im.
"Oy, you sick?" he asks Kyffin. "There's a nice rock there you can yak behind. Feel much better then."
Tristain looks over at Lothan and agrees that that one is definitely the nutter, and acknowledges that maybe he doesn’t smell too good. It was all that time on camelback, but that wasn’t his fault. If they planted more bathhhouses in the middle of deserts, he wouldn’t smell as bad.
”How could you be looking for us when we just got here? Sheesh. Now answer the question: *WHO* told you to look for us and why do you follow her orders? You’re so big, no one should be giving you orders.”
"See, I told you there was a talk-y one," Lurrohak says triumphantly. "Not shutting up. That means that one with the sticks must be the nutter..."
"Well, Mother Grim Moon, of course," Oaag interjects, cutting off his companion as he tries to figure out which of you smells worst.
"They musta' known that already, Oaag," Lurrohak says, having decided it's probably Kyffin (even though that throws off his count, since Kyffin's also clearly the charred one). "After all, they look relatively smart considering how little space they got in their heads for their brains."
Kyffin laughs. He just can't help himself. "No, I'm not sick. But thanks for your concern. Uh, what does your mistress want from us? Why is she looking for us? Might be we come all peaceful like."
He lowers his scimitar, he just doesn't see these two as a threat just yet. But he doesn't quite sheath it.