Wolfrager shrugs her shoulders having no particular preference for direction "Avoiding is probably for the best, but if they catch us sneaking they will probably not be willing to listen to us, if we go to them directly we might have less problems. Getting one or more of the other giant clans on our side might make the Golians more willing to listen to us."
> TIME TO ACT <
• It is now time to decide whether you will approach the giants' border gate or sneak around and hope you don't get caught! If your character does not make a heading, or the group's defacto leaders do not make a heading for you; the GM (me) will decide for you.
> So far it seems the group is tied, with Majuba being too vague to be one way or the other. So it will literally be a coin-toss at this rate.
> The decision will be made towards the end of MONDAY (6th).
Tigerwolf looks at Wolfrager. "Then Wolfrager you believe it is best to meet them head on to best win their trust." She seems to be thinking.
"Then yes, we will approach in the open. Give those with the skills a chance to talk to them. Odak, this means you should stand strong. You are your own Giant now. Your decisions are yours to make my friend. Though we will help you." She looks at the others. "I will concede that approaching has a more valid reason to go with our plan to make them our friends. Who speaks Giant?"
She looked at Wolfrager and Odak. "You two take lead. I will play translator for those that don't speak Giant and a back up talker. I will let the rest of you strut your stuff."
• ODAK peers down at TIGERWOLF and nods his head with his chin-plate tapping at his breastplate, lifting his tower shield up,
ODAK's head turns down to the smaller Ogress WOLFRAGER who was also mentioned in the orders.
Was no where near smart enough to know more then Orc and common languages. So would let the others do the talking but if need to, would do hopefully recognized gestures if need to. And most importantly, try not to make to many sudden movements. Did shift from foot to foot though. "Not it to talk!"
Turgrim only smiles a feral grin. "Hope these negotiations go well..." he says, chuckling a little.
> NEIGHBOURS APPROACH THE FENCE <
• The team choose to approach the giants directly, if only to show their sincerity and avoid the dangers of getting caught sneaking in. This travel would only take about 15-20 minutes as they were already in distance line of sight.
To be this close to the great wall was an intimidating sight to behold. The walls stretching so high that not even your typical castle-scaling ladders could even get you half way up! The stone was blackened as if made of obsidian or some other dark, sharp stone. Those manning it were equally intimidating, Fire Giants nearly fifteen feet tall and many carrying medium and heavy armour made of dark material. Two such earth-quaking giants stepped forward wielding reddened greatswords,
FIRE GIANT GUARD #1: ,
he bellows while thrusting his visibly steaming blade into the earth in front of him, letting the heat burn the earth by his feet.
From the side of the group but middle of the lineup, so not to block view of those wanting in the back, waved a large hand above head in as friendly manner can manage. He made sure to keep Tigerwolf in close distance to both hear her and if had to protect who mentioned would translate.
Well here goes nothing
Turgrim is pretty sure he shouldn't be the one doing the talking. Still, he steps forward, exposing his weapons and dropping them on the ground. "We come in peace!" he shouts up at the giants. "We wish to talk."
After Turgrim has said the simple things Mowgaw step forward. Not impressed by larger creature the strong 1/2 Orc in full plate carries his confidence
We are envoy from the Wolftooth Clan and have a message for the Wise Leader of the Stone Giants, The Heart of the Goliath and the Commander of the Fire Giants. We have presented ourselves to this Stronghold so that we can Declare our purpose and our intention for all to see. Odak the Goliath wishes to enter the land of his ancestors to relay our message and we are his Battle Brothers of Many fights.
Wolfrager stood st tall as she could as they approached wanting to appear as large and powerful as possible when first meeting the Fire Giants to be one less small creature that they would take issue with. She grinned as Mogwag took it upon himself to explain why they were here showing no real hesitation in dealing with the much larger warriors, Wolfrager would place herself nearer to Mogwag on the off chance that his attempts to speak reason with them fell upon deaf ears and the Giants chose to do something foolish like attack.
Tigerwolf would chuckle as she translated letting the others in on the conversation. "Mogwag, they are called Golians. And don't forget the Frost Giants." She said quietly to him. So only he could hear.
She was fine with him handling the negotiations for now.
• The Fire Giants pause for a moment, initally looking towards the likes of Majuba and Greez before they heard the voice emanating far, far low towards the ground. The two Fire-Giants, with trim beards that seemed to suggest a sense of discipline and order, furrowed their brow at Mogwag giving the speech,
FG GUARD #1: ,
Mogwag's Diplomacy seems to have worked well, the guards seem grumpy but open to his words.
• ODAK shuffles out from the group, thudding and clanking into view, even decked in full plate and holding a tower shield he seemed a bit nervous, he was meeting other giants for the first time. He knew he had to help the group in some way but his brain was ticking over on how to approach it.
F.G. GUARD #1: ,
he bellows, getting a little more impatient
• ODAK appreciated the help MAJUBA gave to introducing him, finally summoning the courage to step forward and speak up,
• The two Fire Giant tread on over towards ODAK to inspect him, #1 gives a firm knock on his chest plate and attempts to flip ODAK's face-guard to take a look at him properly. ODAK doesn't refuse in case it causes some problems,
FG GUARD #1: ,
The guard looks onwards to GREEZ, MAJUBA and in a small way WOLFRAGER.
FG GUARD #2:
ODAK nods gently,
• The FG GUARDs move away and talk with each other for a bit before turning around,
FG GUARD #1:
• The guards give the group a chance to confirm acknowledgement before they got back to their posts, calling up to the top to open up the iron gate leading to a checkpoint and another gate.
After hearing some translations, a hand waves one more high above head. "Orc not Ogre." once they are actually able to progress further, actually out of no where lifted Tigerwolf up and sets her on one shoulder. "Translator deserves eye level." He simply states.
Tigerwolf grab's Greez's hands as they lift her and settled on his shoulder once she figures out that is what he is doing. "Thank you Greez. We won't cause trouble but we will defend ourselves." She tells the Giant''s in Giant and then translates for the others.
Sitting comfortably on Greez's shoulders as she would look around keeping her eyes out.
"I guess blood counts for something among these folk after all," Turgrim mutters to himself, glancing up at the giants before returning his sulky gaze to the road ahead. He didn't like the threat of his bones being ground up, but he decides not to comment.
He picks up his weapons carefully from where he dropped them on the ground as a sign of peace, and stoically re-equips them before following Greez and Tigerwolf inside.
And so now we are setting foot on Giant land and continuing forward he says to no one in particular
• The team is allowed access through the gates, into a checkpoints designed to prevent others from sneaking all the way in before the gates are closed; the gate behind closes and the other one opens into a novel sight. The group find themselves on the far side of what seemed to be a town with brick and mortar walls and roads. Policed by Fire Giants dressed in medium armour but with a number of other giants walking around doing their own business too. There is a market up ahead that seemed to be manned by Stone Giants and Golians.
What was novel about the scene was that it appeared to be like a human town, only far more gigantic in proportion. From the curbing and steps to the doors and pavements, everything seemed to have been designed for people three times taller and four times wider. The Giant Party members feel like they're normal sized for the first time while the non-giants will see they're barely child-sized in comparison.
> ODAK <
• ODAK awaits anxiously as the team are temporarily sealed within the checkpoint for the gates to open. But as he sees into the path ahead he's dumbstruck. It was like looking back into his past, everyone except his smaller friends were closer to his eye level than ever before. He would stand just beyond the gate just staring off into space.
Head cants to the side some with a slight dumbfounded look on face at how things appeared more 'normal' at that moment. "Rather hut then this look.... but here... nothing to small." He said to none in particular. Yet even voice had a odd surprised sound to it which was not highly normal for him. Would have moved to whichever place Tigerwolf would have pointed out to go. Though also would have been kind of wandered around slightly aimlessly and random if not mentioned where exactly. Mainly taking in the sights of 'proper sized' stuff for once.
• Though not as phositicated as say, some Human towns and cities further south. Things seemed well constructed and sturdy; with properly rounded corners and decorations in some places. The manner of dress for the Golians, Stone giants and Fire giants seemed very casually dressed, clothes of quality not commonly seen elsewhere; very tidy, brighter colours, nothing too ragged or torn through wear.
• The Market up the road was quite wide and featured stalls made of thick wooden construction, selling things from fresh food to speciality items like potions and arms. Many of the giants, especially the Golians whose skin tone ranged from pink to tan to brown and pale watched the team with great curiosity. From the larger Orcs down to the smaller Hobgoblin and Half-Orcs as they gossiped with their friends and appeared on the verge of striding over for a closer look.
"These Golians seem pretty...comfortable," Turgrim comments, observing the finely made clothing many of the giants around here seem to be wearing. In comparison to them, the hobgoblin feels shabby.
Wolfrager eyes the settlement with great interest with her family things had always been sized to ogre standards but with such little craftsmanship there was never much for it to be especially relevent, now however seeing a whole settlement meant for larger creatures was a rather amazing sight.
" They are probably not used to an attack on the settlement, they don't need to be ready for battle at a moments notice" Wolfrager said hearing fiefdoms comment, few were willing to attack a group of giants let alone an entire settlement
Now would be a good time to look for some wise men or leader time of the Goliath present here in order to get information about the ruling body of that clan
Tigerwolf would smile at the Golian's and waves and calls out in Giant. "Hello, How are you this lovely day?" To the Golain's at first glance she would look almost like a human teenager. Only the little bit of fang and slight tint to her skintone said otherwise.
Turning to Wolfrager she nodded. "Who would attack a Giant Stronghold without them seeing it?" She said with a chuckle. "And even if they don't seem ready I would not discount their ability to procure arms and move to defend themselves."
an amazing place. I would never had thought this could exist like this.
In his mind he was already changing his preconceived ideas.
> GOLIAN CURIOSITY <
• MOGWAG walks ahead in order to proceed with his Diplomacy-based Gather Information task. In the market square occupied by several dozen stalls with nine foot high counters, the Half-Orc would need to get the attention of nearby giants. He comes across a couple of Golians, a male and female shopping together; it was interesting to note that both of them were extremely slim in comparison to the likes of ODAK, almost like tall, well muscled humans.
MISS GOLIAN:
ARBA:
GINA:
ARBA:
As the couple look down at MOGWAG, more giants Golians and Stone giants come to see and look, bringing some of the crowds around to surround the new, interesting and exciting arrival in the marketplace. Being surrounded meant that MOGWAG had nowhere to run, knee-high to those too curious to respect personal space as they reach their hands over to poke, prod and pull at the armoured Cleric.
"Hey! Hands off!" Turgrim's brusque voice defies his diminutive size in comparison to the giants. He strides up purposefully to where Mogwag is, ready to bust some heads if he needs to.
• TURGRIM joins in the fray, despite being a foot or two taller than MOGWAG, the giants don't seem to be any more threatened by TURGRIM's arrival than the other.
STONE GIANT STALL-KEEPER (in Giant):
BROADBACK GOLIAN MAN:
STONE GIANT STALL-KEEPER (in Giant):
• A few more curious giants block TURGRIM's way, while they don't surround the guy it's clear he'll have to push through several thousand pounds worth per person to get past.
Turgrim tries to shove onlookers out of the way, but only manages to make himself look ridiculous. These giants would not respect his authoritah.
• TURGRIM attempts to push away the onlookers, however even the most average untrained Golian was capable of picking him up underneath his arms and carry him up into the air to have a look, the giant's thumbs atop TURGRIM's chest,
GOLIAN MAN:
The Golian man turns towards the team,
Spotted, and heard, the two seeming to have difficulty. So made way over and tried to get at least up to Turgrim and Mogwag. Was not sure if the giants understood him or not, yet tried anyway. "Two no kids. Full grown.... I think." If had to be would make sure none would accidentally step on either of them.
I'm having flashbacks to my childhood. All the tall adults.
Wolfrager watches on in utter confusion at the giants reactions to Mogwag and Turgrim having not at all expected a reaction such as this. "We should get them out of there before something goes wrong.." she finally mutters after a few moments of watching things progress. Mogwag seemed fairly level headed so it was unlikely that he would react TOO poorly to the attention so long as the Giants did not get rough with him. Turgrim however seemed a bit more hotheaded and with a giant manhandleing him Wolfrager felt it best to get him free first.
Moving to approach the Golian holding Turgrim "Hes as grown as he's gonna get, hes a Hobgoblin. Any chance you could put him down, I think he might get a bit bitey soon."
Tigerwolf would ride on Greez's shoulder and calls out in Giant. "Hello! Can you put our friend down. I know we are small but we don't like being manhandled like that. If you have questions just ask us. I cam translate for everyone."
Turgrim is occupied with batting away the grabby giant hands, like an irritated housecat.
Mogwag just look around him calmly even after being translated what was said
Can someone ask the giants where we could find the leader / Wise one / etc of the town's Goliath ? he says remaining utterly calm
• The Golian holding TURGRIM in his hands lower down to the ground so that the Hobgoblin Monk could stand back up again. Likewise, the highly 'interesting' Mogwag was soon allowed free as crowd took some interest in the new group and looked at the little girl sitting on GREEZ's shoulder. A couple of armoured men who appeared to be law enforcement approached to keep the crowd calm.
• While the townspeople were distracted, a small rock is thrown at ODAK's head, narrowly missing TIGERWOLF,
MALE VOICE:
The voice struck a chord with the armoured Golian as he turns himself around without hesitation, striding over towards the source,
ODAK:
> MASKED MEN <
• Not too concealed around the corner near an alleyway, an extremely tall giant wearing muted blue and green leathers and a half-mask quite similar to the one that ODAK himself wore, hiding the top part of his face while exposing his jaw and mouth, his height rivalling that of MAJUBA for tallest giant around. Standing behind him, an enormous dark-skinned, red-haired giant resembling a fire giant. He appeared to be an arcane caster judging by the thick red and brown robes and gold trims yet this one wore armour upon his forearms, legs and chest with a hood and half-mask. His size rivalling that of GREEZ and ODAK.
While the other giants were different for wearing more colourful clothing. These two stood out for their darker colours and their distinctive face-concealing masks.
The tall man strides over towards ODAK in less than two steps in a space of ten feet, and stands looking down at him; a head above the armoured warrior himself,
The caster with his large boots thudded to stand beside his taller partner, the shin-guards of his medium armour clanking together as he stood up straight with his arms behind his back,
,
he said with a slight bit of caution in his voice.
friends of yours, Odak?
Karol, puts one arm near his drum, one his axe. This might go rather badly.
• Seemingly overcome with emotion, ODAK throws his arms around the tall one's body and hugged him tight against his breastplate. The Slayer visibly discomforted and trying to wriggle free,
,
ODAK bellows, the loudest he's ever spoken outside of battle.
• JARED coughs as he tries to get his arms free,
JARED:
Mogwag moves to the side in order to give some space to the brotherly reunion
Turgrim just lets out an indignant huff as the giants' manhandling of his person finally stops. "Good to see we've got...big friends on the inside," the hobgoblin mutters to Mogwag under his breath.