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To wake a slumbering giant is suicide... but to sneak up on one could be just as dangerous... While Raunip thinks it over, he turns the button on his cloak to use prestidigitation to dry himself and his belongings. Raunip will approach, take any weapons out of arm's reach, and then wake Great Grunda...
Cautiously the young merchant goes towards the shelter, and looks for an opening to slip inside.
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Raunip opens a flap in the hide tent. The sunlight is muted through the thick skins, but shines through several gaps throughout. Within is a scene that could almost be described as homey, though still primitive. In the center of the hut there is a large fire pit with a huge spit. No fire burns, but the remains of something meaty linger on the spit. From this vantage point it could be alligator... or kobold. The floor of the home is covered with various furs and skins; bear, tiger, striped plains-horse. Several large sacks lie about, discarded. Some appear to have stolen vegetables, others trinkets and broken items. On a rather flat stone there is a large skull that appears to have belonged to another giant. Towards the back of the hut, facing the river, where two stone walls of a goblin ruin barely stand, you see the slumbering giantess. Grunda is great indeed. She sleeps in an awkward position on a mound of furs, her ruddy brown skin rising and falling with her snores. Your cheeks flush as you realize she is resting only in a loose shift of fur around her waist. After you get over your embarrassment, you realize her bed is larger than she would need by herself. Tucked in the corner of the ruins, in the most defensible spot of the tent, something else catches your eye. A very large wicker basket. Empty. And finally, gazing up from the basket, a huge club sets against the wall. Just within reach of the giantess.
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You get the feeling that Grunda did not always live in this tent alone. By the items and decorations it seems that she had a family. She slumbers soundly, and if you are careful you have a chance of getting to her greatclub, but even unarmed she could be quite dangerous if provoked.
Perusing the room, one of the open sacks contains several small speckled green eggs the size of small stones.
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Raunip thinks for a moment. The feast of the dreaming... He thinks. He pinches his fingers, mimicking the closing of eyes. Carefully he rests a hand on the sleeping Grunda as he whispers softly, "raat gan'khesh." Raunip smiles as he casts the dream feast then settles in, sitting cross-legged near Grunda for a bit to let the dream take hold...
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Grunda sleeps through the spellcasting, and shortly her snoring becomes softer. You notice a smile plays out upon her face while she dreams. You do not let your gaze linger, as it becomes even more apparent of her nudity as she rolls onto her back. You occupy yourself by studying the interior of the hut, trying to let her sleep peacefully. The golden light seeping through the cracks in the tent turns darker orange as you realize the sun is on its journey towards setting. If Grunda awakens with the moons, you will not have much time to plead your case on behalf of the Green-hoarders if you let her continue to sleep.
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The snoring stops. Great Grunda slowly opens and blinks her green eyes as she sits up. With one hand she pats her stomach, with the back of the other she rubs her eyes. she rumbles hazily. Without regard to her lack of attire, she stumbles to her feet, her left hand reaching out to reflexively grab for her club. When she doesn't find it, her irritation grows and slightly more alert she looks to the empty corner. Her deep voice starts to grow louder as the giantess comes out of her stupor.
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Perhaps still in bewilderment, the giantess pauses as she looks down to focus on you. she inquires. Her eyes narrow, but with mistrust rather than blatant malice. Since she cannot find her greatclub, she reaches down to grab an assortment of cloth and fur that you assume is her outfit. She seems not to notice your embarrassment as you turn your head while she dons a makeshift dress and hide armor.
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Her confusion turns to sadness, but you do not think it is for the kobolds' sake. "Grunda not mother..." she says softly. Her head turns towards the empty basket in the corner, and then to the large skull upon the rock. "Not mother no more." She looks back to you, and you are not sure if she is going to get sadder or angrier. "Leave. No want moon-gobbers or speckle lizards."
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Fortunately for you, the hill giantess seems to want company and conversation more than she wants to smash you to pieces. She sighs deeply and then sits back down on her bed. She looks back to the basket. You can see tears falling down her cheeks now. Her words start to become slurred as she cries. The giantess weeps loudly and it takes several moments for her to be understood. She tries to say the same things over and over until she calms herself slightly. "Men stab Nový. Karvog cry and start to smash blue-shirt men. Karvog kill three. Rest of men get round Karvog. Karvog strong but not strong enough... little men stab Karvog. Grunda scream and throw rock. Hit wagon, but men run away. Other horses and men run away with wagon. Leave Grunda all alone.... Grunda put Nový under rocks. Grunda try with Karvog but Karvog so big. Water lizards eat most of Karvog..." She points at the large skull on the stone. The giantess sits for a long moment, crying as she recollects the deaths of her family.
During the course of her tale and tears the sun has nearly set. Features of the tent begin to become difficult to make out in the fading twilight.
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Raunip lets the silence hang for a time. "Raunip is sorry that you lost your mate and daughter." As the sun sets, colors fade from the room and start to take on shades of grey. The hobgoblin assumes the giantess can also see at night, but he wants to make her comfortable. He turns towards the fire pit. With his back to Grunda, he kneels down and snaps his fingers, igniting the fire with a spark. "Raunip will help Grunda tonight. Raunip will make food. Can Raunip stay tonight?"
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Her eyes widen at how swiftly you start the fire, she does not realize you used spellwork to accomplish the task. For now she seems to have composed herself. She pats her stomach.
Despite her protests of not being hungry, Grunda comes over to start turning the alligator on the spit out of habit.
You realize it has been hard for the giantess Grunda without her mate. She strives to be better than most of her kind. Karvog led by example, and she has been on her own for some time.
535 XP.
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While she turns the alligator, Raunip remembers the items he procured from his mother. "Grunda, Raunip cannot bring back Nový, but Raunip has something for you..." he hobbles to where he left the sack by the entrance. He fishes out the large doll- mostly made from sackcloth itself and about half his height. He sets the doll down near his hostess.
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She stoops down to look at the doll. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears as she smiles. Looking back to you, She accepts the gift and holds it close to her, hugging it tightly. She turns the doll and shows it to the skull of her mate. "Karvog," she says softly to it. "Look. Gobber friend bring doll for Nový. Nový gone, but doll remind me of our Nový. Grunda misses you and Nový." She takes the sackdoll and places it in the basket near her bed. Coming back to the fire, she tears off a chunk of the alligator remains with her hand and offers it to you.
The alligator meat is tough and gamey, but filling. From some of the sacks around her home Grunda offers you cheese and some kind of berry juice. You offer to plant some of the vegetables in the morning and show Grunda how to care for them. Your farming skills are not anything to brag about, but you think you can at least help her to grow potatoes, if she can be patient enough to let them grow. Grunda asks you to tell her stories. Although you think most of the tales are too complex for her to follow, she never interrupts and her mood is quite improved to be able to listen to someone talk to her in her own language. After a few hours she tells you to sleep, and that she will guard you during the night. She is quite insistent. When you go to lay out your bedroll she offers her own large bed for you to rest in. Still a bit sore from the wounds you received throughout the strange day, but soon you drift off into a surprisingly comfortable and deep sleep...
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Sunlight dances through the trees of Grunda's Glade, turning the river golden orange in the reflection of the dawn. A few stray beams of light slip through the patches of a weathered hut- a mishmash of hide and leathers built upon a red stone foundation. In the far end rests a bed of furs, three times larger than its sole occupant. The dark furs a stark contrast to the white furred boy sleeping within them. Near a dying fire sits a very large woman, years of life in the open have cured her brown skin to almost a tough leather, her black tresses hanging in dredded locks that falls to her waist. Entwined throughout her hair are tokens and mementos- tiny animal skulls and bones, feathers and wooden beads. The embers reflect in her dark eyes. A sad smile plays upon a warrior's face, lost in memory.
As the sun rises, so too do noises of beasts and insects that reside near the glade. The goblin-boy stirs and wakes, ready to turn the next page of his story...
After a peaceful rest, you wake to find Grunda at the firepit, the doll sits beside her carefully placed. The giantess looks to you as you wake, her smile widening. "Moon-gobber Raunip rises with sun. And morning is good." She says softly.
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As Raunip stirs, "Huul ghuugec" he says, "Er... Good morning." he corrects in the Jotun tongue. After stretching, Raunip excuses himself for a moment to "raise the river." Stepping back into the hut relieved, Raunip heads for the sacks of procured vegetables. "Raunip will help Grunda grow food again. This morning we will plant what we can." Looking over the foodstuffs, Raunip tries to decide what will grow with little effort, root vegetables.
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Living a life of trading, Raunip has learned from Sora Esma which foods will last the longest, and Grunda has many of them available. You spend a few hours with her slowly showing her how to plant the potatoes, carrots and onions, reminding her to always plant more when she digs them up. Where Korvag had planted before the ground is soft and fertile, and with any luck the vegetables will take easily.
A few alligators get close to investigate, but Grunda throws a boulder their way and they slither back into the river downstream.
The time passes quickly, and Grunda is very happy for your company. Before the sun reaches mid-day, Grunda brings your belongings and the sack containing the speckled eggs outside the hut.
When you are ready, Great Grunda carries you across the river. Your feet do not even touch the water sitting on top of the giantess' shoulders. Upon the other shore, Grunda sets you down. She points the way of the rock enclosure that the Green-hoards call their home. Before you can react, the wind is rushed from you as you are caught in her embrace as she says goodbye.
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"G.. goodbye, Grunda. Karvog is... p-proud of you." Raunip manages while being squeezed. He adjusts his packs, compensating for the eggs, trying to be as careful with them as possible. Raunip orients himself,
and makes his way slowly back towards the Green-hoard kobolds. He clicks his heels to summon his spirit-golin friends.
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Footman Sala appears, wearing a comical paper mask of a guul'dar that clashes with his golin livery. Gax arrives wearing the finest attire a kech'rhu would have worn in the days of the Empire- the kech'ru being one of the most trusted servants in a palace. This time even sleepy taarka'nu Gween arrives- her ensembles a combination of golin servant and wolf tamer. If she existed once, she would have been a kennelmaster. The three servants stand idly by, awaiting your instruction.
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"Saa, my friends." Raunip greets his ghostly companions. "Let us quickly return these eggs to the Green-hoarders." Raunip heads back, instructing the servants about, keeping them before him. He talks to them about Grunda, telling them about the she-giant, and occasionally has them stomp about, in case there are buried pits the Green-hoarders have left about.
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Making your way back west towards the jagged stones, you send the dhakaani servants to and fro until Sala finds a hidden pit. The translucent green goblin flails as he falls into the kobold trap. Cautiously approaching you see him just standing at the bottom, trapped, awaiting your next instruction. As you peer into the pit you hear a voice shout, "Pok ritran!"
Looking up you see a kobold spearholder leveling his spear at you as it approaches.
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The sentry narrows its eyes. "Dronilnr di loex!" it shrieks and launches a spear at Gax. The spear passes through the servant and plants into the ground. The kech'ru just looks down at the spear handle sticking out of his mid-section. The sentry's eyes go wide. "Letoclo ve!" it screams, weaponless, and runs back towards the stone points.
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As the sentry runs back towards the megalith, it dodges erratically to avoid other hidden pits. Three mounted kobolds ride out of the structure- urthalrei on dire weasels. You have a few moments before they are upon you, but you're not certain if Ozula will be able to intercede before then.
Initiative.
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The riders fire their crossbows across the plain, aiming straight for you. The first bolt sails off into the grass, far from causing harm to anything. The second kobold overcompensates as it stands in the saddle to fire at you- which is a mistake as the shot goes wild and the urthalrei tumbles backward off its mount into the high grasses. The third rider also misses wildly, the trio having trouble riding, firing, and avoiding their own pitfalls all at once...
Round Two: Raunip, Ozula, Urthalrei
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A fourth dire weasel scurries out of the enclave and chases after the trio. It screeches loudly. The other three weasels pause, but then continue their chase towards you.
The kobold thrown from its mount gets up and chases after the weasel. "Xsiol!" it exclaims, and from time spent amongst your mother's less savory customers, you know that isn't something usually said in proper company.
With determination, the remaining urthalrei load their crossbows and fire in your direction again as they close the distance. Unfortunately for the Green-hoard tribe, these are not their best marksmen.
Round Three: Raunip, Ozula, Urthalrei
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The dire weasel without a saddle dashes ahead of the others. It jumps into the air and as it does so, the beast transforms before your eyes. Instead of a weasel landing, there is a familiar green scaled kobold. "Urthalrei, pok!" Ozula commands. The riders immediately reign in their weasels, while the dire weasel that threw its rider screeches in fear at Ozula's shapechanging and flees back towards the ring of broken stones.
The Green-hoard leader adjusts her large Brelish cap as she turns to you, her clothing apparently melding with her fur when she changed. "You save our eggs?" she inquires in Galifaran. "What of the Great Grunda? She feed the long-tooths?"
Knowledge local or Spellcraft check to identify Ozula's transformation.
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Ozula's eyes light up as she sees the eggs intact. She reaches for the pack, but waits for you to continue.
Thanks to a lifetime of travel with your mother, you recognize that Ozula has the gift of Eberron's moons called lycanthropy. Her gift seems to have the affinity of the same creature that the Green-Hoard kobolds raise and ride, the dire weasel.
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"The Great Grunda feels bad for stealing Green-hoard eggs. She is not dead..." Raunip pushes the satchel over to the eager kobold. "She is lonely. Raunip thinks that if Ozula will talk to Great Grunda it could work out in your favor. She is big-big. The Green-hoard are many-many. Together you could keep both your homes safe..."
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Ozula adjusts her Brelish cap in thought. "Eggs are safe... Raunip do well. The Great Grunda give back eggs... maybe what Raunip say work." The green-scaled kobold smiles. "Raunip make peace. We give Raunip a petisse-verth baeshra. And Ozula talk. Maybe Ozula make peace too."
The Green-hoard leader entrusts the eggs to one of the riders, then motions for you to follow her back to their camp.
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Raunip is escorted by the were-weasel leader of the kobold tribe into their burrow. You do notice that the tribe is bigger than it seems, as several more of the kobolds mill about underground in the shallow den where a few rooms have been excavated for various purposes.
Ozula explains to you that her people are the iredar, the "ones of earth," kobolds that trace their heritage to Eberron, the Dragon Between. They prepare a simple fare for you of clear water, various roots and grubs. For the next several hours you enjoy the company of the Green-hoard kobolds, learning of their culture and their way of life. You assure them that things should begin to be peaceful with Great Grunda, and hopefully a new time of peace and security will unfold from the symbiosis of kobold and giant.
You are escorted to the kennels, and allowed to choose which dire weasel you will claim as your reward. Choosing one of the larger specimens, Raunip is then gifted a riding saddle by the Green-hoarders, and the urthalrei begin to teach you how to ride him.
Ride check and Handle Animal check.
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From the boogle of dire weasels, Raunip spies a titian-colored she-weasel that seems to have a chipper demeanor. Approaching her slowly, he signals to the kobolds that he would like the saddle placed upon her. Cautiously the bandy-legged youth climbs into the saddle, shushing and soothing softly as he tries to keep the weasel calm.