Day 102: Starday the 29th, Kuthona, 4707
The morning started with Jonathan waking everyone up an hour and a half before dawn with coffee and a filling breakfast. The man could definitely cook! We were not even mad with being up that early with that kind of meal. We quickly got up and got everything together and headed out to the patio to look around. I was the last person who saw it, but there was large shadow in the dawn cresting the Raven Roost hills. I looked to everyone else and they just nodded.
Jonathan used his long distance powers to cause the Cathedral bell to ring. He did the prearranged signal and we heard people all over town getting up. We took five minutes to lock up the building and parcel out the various entities to where they needed to go, Bailey with Savah, Veronica in my saddlebags and Igor in Savah's, Niddler on my shoulder, and War-Bringer on my Bike. We took a few minutes to say our farewells to our loved ones before heading directly to the North Gate.
By agreement, Savah, Chelger, Shayliss, and Shalelu would be working to defend the townsfolk in the tunnels, because there was still concerns that the tunnels could be breached and the townsfolk would need protection. Vaeren and Erika went to the Glassworks with them. Oren and Arika both went to the Garrison to get with their assigned groups. Oren was going to be in the wandering town guard group, and Arika was to be a positioned sniper. The four of us went directly to the North Gate.
When a giant popped their head out to try to get a bead on a target, Jonathan announced to them that he could see them and that there would be no quarter. The stone giant ducked back into the woods momentarily. Faunra sent a message to the bards, while I gave Niddler my phone and dosed him with an invisibility potion. Suddenly, a rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" came into existence in the open air above us, oddly working to inspire all of the town guard and us as well.
Almost fifty seconds of instrumental music and insults were all that was in the air, as we waited for the giants to make their move. Then it happened. As the song started its lyric portion, and I could actually feel more inspired by the singing, a boulder came crashing through the air and there was the sound of many running through the woods. I happened to spy what looked like a mobile stone through the foliage and tracked it. When I felt comfortable, I squeezed off a round from my pistol. It burned through the air as the bullet made its way into the skin of the Giant and it bellowed out a roar in reply. Faunra followed suit and launched a pair of arrows into it. Dame Rebekah did the same with her longbow for once.
Without us realizing they were there, hobgoblins came running out of the woods towards the trench zones that we had developed for the town. Figures that what I expected would be "The Last Stand" would actually end up being more like the "Fields of Verdun". I hear the sound of rifles firing off from the guard at the Hobgoblins that were running for the impromptu trenches. Another stone giant, unhindered by wounds, broke the tree line and threw a boulder at me. I don't know how, but it glanced off my shield and didn't break my arm. I guess this armor really is decent. Or maybe it was Jonathan, who was telekinetically launching the boulder right back at the giant. I don't think that the giant was quite prepared for just the level of violence that we were ready to answer with, as it took a solid hit to the chest.
The Giant we had wounded before stepped out and took aim at me as well. This one was so far off that it didn't even come close to me. I think that all of the enchantments and spells saturating the air must be throwing off the thing's aim. A third Giant came out as well and fired off a boulder at me again, and again missed. Now that the field was open, I felt more comfortable with bringing out War-Bringer. I lined up a good angle where I could get two of the giants, the one who hit my shield and the undamaged one, and some hobgoblins in their vicinity, and I let spray, while I screamed out in time with the song, the line, "just a man and his will to survive."
I really hope that this level of warfare never comes to this town. Or any town here for that matter. I dropped the one that I had first hit. I killed all of the hobgoblins that had been hit. I landed a solid blow on the other giant. It was gloriously horrific. There was the sound of grenades exploding in the trenches as well. All of this must have spurred on Faunra as well, because she struck the giant that we had hit first twice and dropped him, before striking the other with two solid hits and bringing it to mortal peril. Dame Rebekah followed suit with a vicious hit of her own, dropping that third giant. Jonathan looks in the direction of my house and yells out that they are heading that way next, that he can see them through the trees and takes off running down the top of the wall that had been made not too long ago.
I looked to the town guard and to the hobgoblins who were firing arrows at everyone, and missing mostly. I yelled to Sheriff Hemlock that they could handle this, and hopped on my bike and rode on the top of this narrow wall to head towards Tanner Bridge. Faunra started flying at full speed under her own power, and Dame Rebekah actually hopped on the back of my bike for the first time ever while whistling to her pegasus to follow us. She held on tight and yelled at me to "tell no one of this". A journal doesn't count as anyone, right?
I had gotten to the end of the original wall when I saw the giants attempting to smash the river gaps that Oren, Arika, Chelger, and Dame Rebekah had made bigger to let the largest bears I had ever seen in. Jonathan was already almost there, but it looked like if they continued to smash against the wall that they would break the whole thing down. There wasn't much time to act, and Faunra looked to already be casting some kind of spell. The area where the giants and the giant bears erupted into the webbing that we were so familiar with. I didn't think that it would do much to something with a giant's strength, but it should make it difficult to get those bears to do what they wanted. For at least a few seconds. This fight is going so fast. Dame Rebekah fired off her burst of radiance, which didn't seem to damage our foes at all. Great now they are not even evil.
Now we were close enough that we were able to be targets of the giants, and I took the opportunity to fire off War-Bringer at them. I might have enough rounds for eight more bursts like this, but it was worth it to get this kind of spread. I managed to get a round off at each of them, but nothing nearly as fatal as the first batch. I guess that I really shouldn't have been riding the bike while trying to fire an automatic weapon. Somewhere out there, I felt that I was being judged as wanting. One of the cave bears seemed to want a piece of us, and started climbing its way up the not so thick composite wall while the giant that was directing it tossed a boulder at me. Well, it seemed to be directed at Dame Rebekah, but since I was the one who had wounded it, I figured that it was actually more pissed at me and just missed REALLY badly.
Faunra took the opportunity to fire off some arrows at the Giant and the cave bear who had NOT made any aggressive actions towards us, dropping the giant completely, and doing some damage to the bear that it commanded. Jonathan took the opportunity to launch the boulder that the first Giant had thrown at Dame Rebekah and hit the cave bear that was on top of the wall with so much force that it fell backwards off the wall and into the webbing and onto the giant who Faunra had slain. Dame Rebekah took the opportunity of the clearing to get off the bike and charge at the remaining giant, with furious slash. The giant had tried to strike her before she got close and missed.
The remaining cave bear had climbed up the wall when I wasn't looking and tried to take a swipe at Dame Rebekah, but failed. I knew that I couldn't get off the bike, so I let go of War-Bringer, thinking to him in advance that I would do so, and willed my pistol into my hand. I wiled everything I could into the round and took aim, firing. I guess that the bear was so precariously perched on the wall that it fell off backwards, destroying most of the rest of the webbing and landing with a thud. This must have enraged the giant because it hit Dame Rebekah with its club and I heard crunching. She seemed fine, but that club to the stomach must have hurt. Dame Rebekah managed to get out of the way of its return swing.
I didn't see Faunra's bow shots or the look on her face when she fired them. All I know is that only two of her launch of four arrows hit true. But that was enough. The two that hit the giant burned into it with fire and acid, dropping it and sending it to crash into the Turandarok. Jonathan used his powers to get Dame Rebekah back up from ground level onto the bridge. Dame Rebekah hopped back on the back of my bike, telling me that the same rules apply. Jonathan pointed out that there looked to be some giants were climbing over the lower edge of my property's wall to head towards the pond, but that they were trying to be sneaky so it was taking longer than it would normally if they were walking or charging. Then Jonathan told me the worst news of the day. The giants were going after my chickens.
I gunned the throttle while popping off a round at the one who had two pick-axes, rather than tree clubs. He seemed like he would be the most dangerous. Faunra and Jonathan must have had the same idea, because I saw two burning, shocking, and acidic arrows penetrate the pick-axe giant's shoulders. What disturbed me is that only two hit, even with all of the magic that had been used to enhance us, only two of them had hit. Jonathan had not had time to do his DBZ impression, so I could almost feel his health being sapped as he put everything he had into hitting this giant with one of his marbles. The marble disintegrated instantly, but the force seemed to rock the giant back, luckily into the path of my bullet, which looked to take out an eye.
The Giant roared louder than those cave bears did and pointed the giants who had been busying themselves with my flock at us. He dropped one of his picks and threw rocks at me, Faunra, and Dame Rebekah. The ones aimed at Faunra and Dame Rebekah missed completely. Must be the bad depth perception from missing an eye. The one aimed at me would have been true, except for the bevy of images around me. The rock smashed the image into nothingness and continued on its way, unhindered. I counted my lucky stars that I had not taken the hit. Dame Rebekah whispered that it didn't really hurt that bad, and jumped off the bike to charge one of the giants who were only now looking up from my precious chickens. We were fighting to keep the flock alive, just like how the song was hinting at.
The two giants surrounded Dame Rebekah and blasted away at her with their clubs, damaging her with one of the hits. Faunra took umbrage to this and concentrated her fire on the one who had hurt Dame Rebekah, damaging it greatly. Jonathan launched a rock at the one that Dame Rebekah had hit first, doing great damage to it before looking over his shoulder. He shouted "We got a dragon inbound. David, finish this off quickly." Spurred into action, I unloaded the rest of my magazine into the group of giants.
It was nice that I didn't need to really worry about hitting Dame Rebekah, as the giants were much taller than her. The first shot slammed the one that Jonathan had just hit with a thud, dropping it. The second shot must have been guided by the hands of whatever deities hold Dame Rebekah in high esteem, because it went right into the eye of the stone giant that had hit her. The giant dropped to the ground, dead before he hit the ground. My last bullet almost casually dropped the dual pick-axe wielder, penetrating his neck and dropping him dead in an instant. Just as they did, I could hear that the bards were singing the chorus of the song. I swear that I am going to apologize to anyone who I scoffed at when they said music makes the world go around.
The Dragon was a scant two hundred or so feet away from the town, and Jonathan was charging up. Faunra launched a few arrows at it, yelling that we needed to draw it to us. She hit it two out of three times, but it didn't seem as damaging as her arrows had been against the giants. Faunra yelled out that it's immune to fire. I gulped. I didn't know how that would be effected by my pistol or my LMG. I tried to bring forth the glittery dust, like Faunra had been able to do before and was a little surprised when it went off in the dragon's face. I was less amused when it laughed it off and banked towards us.
It was just like Reign of Fire. It flew over us and strafed us with burning heat. Luckily, I had my shield up and managed to throw off most of the fire because of it, but it still got me a little. Jonathan was none the worse for wear at all. Faunra was wounded too, but Dame Rebekah was too far away to be hit, luckily. She took the opportunity to summon up her own divinely charged burst of radiance, which resulted in it cursing in Draconic that it burned. I replied back that it gets what it fucking deserves. It looked back over its wing at me and I figured that I would be getting the attention of it next.
I took a chance on dropping the old magazine, putting the new one in, and popping off one shot. It seemed to hit the bastard fairly well, but Jonathan deserves the kill. His marble (he sure is running out of them) went into one eye and disintegrated explosively in the socket, dropping the dragon as it glided down into the trees. I looked to Jonathan and saw that aether was weeping from his body. I asked him if he was going to be okay, and he shrugged, saying that he was going to have to take it easy from here on out. Dame Rebekah yelled that he had done more than enough for this mission, and that he had performed admirably.
We all gathered up together for Dame Rebekah to heal us up. There were still conflicts at the front gate, but they seemed to be doing well enough to repulse the attack there. I asked Jonathan if his keen werewolf eyes spotted any other groups. Jonathan looked a bit miffed but looked around and said that he heard some conflicts at the South Bridge. He started rushing that way, and Faunra flew down to hover next to Dame Rebekah.
Dame Rebekah got back on the back of the bike and looked to Faunra. Faunra grabbed the back of Dame Rebekah's armor, and Dame Rebekah told me to go. It must have looked a little comical to see a neigh-on Lon Chaney running through sparsely growing trees, with a steampunk motorcycle being ridden by two techno-armored people, with a third grabbing for dear life onto the back of the second, a black bow in their other hand. By the time we got to the bridge, the guards who had been there were taking shots at some of the hobgoblins that had accompanied the giants. The Giants were looking to be coming up from the back with intent in their eyes, yelling to the town that they were demanding beer.
Now I knew that Gaven could take them out all by himself, but I also knew that he didn't need to. Since they and we were still on this side of the bridge. Problem was, we (at least I) no longer heard the music, so I could actually feel that bit of inspiration leave me. I was moving slower somehow, and the pure righteous inspiration was fading rapidly. I didn't worry too much at the time, as I felt that it was more important to get this all dealt with, then there was a carousel of errors and near misses.
Faunra tried to let loose a barrage at one of the giants. She managed to get two hits in, but she felt that she could have done better with the bard's gifts. The other of the stone giants noticed us and charged at Jonathan, swinging (and thankfully) missing. Jonathan yelled out that he had this, so focus on the other one. Then another of the cave bears came rushing out to try to bite Jonathan from behind. Jonathan managed to just get out of the way and yelled out that he might need a little help now. I had already aimed at the other giant, and in trying to swing to aim at the giant that was attacking Jonathan, I missed my shot.
That left me unfocused when the Giant I was going to shoot rushed forward and took a swipe at me. It was only due to the fact that there were three others of me that it managed to miss. And one of those copies disappeared. Jonathan stepped up into the face of the giant who had rushed him and tried his flurry attack. He got a few good hits in, but didn't drop the giant. Dame Rebekah was the one who managed to seal the deal on the giant, rushing up and charging it with a violent slash that only just managed to drop it.
Faunra floated back five feet, to be beyond the giant's reach, and tried to pepper the same giant that she had hit before with arrows. Two of her arrows hit, and she used a spell to summon up a ball of mud that streaked right into the giant's face. Faunra yelled that I should be able to fire without fear now. In the corner of my eye, I saw the bear take a chomp out of Jonathan. It got pushed back by the fore field around him and the teeth didn't even break the surface. The Giant, in the meantime, flailed about and I took my opening to fire a round off into it. I dropped it with precision. The Giant fell backwards in a heap.
Jonathan took the opportunity to step up and unload on the bear. Jonathan executed three precision strikes, one to the collarbone, one to the throat, and the final one to the giant bear's temple. The great ursine roared and dropped without Jonathan even needing a fourth hit. Dame Rebekah spared a glance to the town guard who were holding their own against the hobgoblins just fine. Faunra launched a couple of regular arrows into the mass and the others looked to me. I shrugged and said that I needed to reload, before getting War-Bringer and doing so. By the time I had reloaded, the guards had launched a few more grenades and the hobgoblins were beaten back.
Jonathan and Dame Rebekah had walked over to the two guards, Ileana and Naru, to check them for any issues while I was reloading. Apparently they were both quite taken with the grenades and the pistols that they had gotten, and had only gotten minor nicks from the arrows that had managed to even hit them with the new armor that they had. Naru was especially pleased with how well the new weapon worked with his individual training. Dame Rebekah had asked them if they needed anything else, and they both exclaimed that they in fact did not. Dame Rebekah and Jonathan both came back and gave us this report.
We spent a few brief moments looking around for where the next big issue was, and Jonathan pointed out that he smelled smoke and heard sounds of struggle from the noble's houses up the hill. My magazines were fully loaded and ready to go, so I shrugged and said that we can go head on up there, as long as the rest of the town looks good. A round of shrugs meant that we were on or way.
When we got up there, it was of course, the Scarnetti's mansion that was being looted by overly large raiders. One of the raiders was dead on the ground, but there were three more bringing things out of the house and putting them into a wagon. There was a squirming bag that was already in the wagon. I looked at the others and we all nodded our heads. The first Giant out the door got the brunt of Faunra and my fury, dropping it only a few feet outside the door, from a combined barrage of arrows and bullets.
The second one ran out quickly and rushed us, launching boxes of silverware at Faunra and myself. Both of us could have been hit, except for the multiple images that were still flitting around us. Three left for Faunra, two left for me now. The boxes spilled out their contents, which is why we knew that they were silverware. Dame Rebekah, seeing an opening, rushed forward to slay the giant. It tried to swing a chair like a club, but the lack of weight caused it to almost fall off balance. Dame Rebekah exploited that opening with a hefty slash, before stopping just on the other side of it.
I didn't see why at first, but then Jonathan streaked into view, delivering a vicious aether assisted slash to the giant's prodigious gut. The third Giant took this as his opening and stepped out of the manor, swinging a fierce club at Jonathan. What it didn't do is accommodate for Jonathan's stature, or lack thereof in his battle stance. He was like a slightly large wolf version of Wolverine. He was naturally shorter than a giant, who these giants were probably used to fighting, and shorter still than a man, who might be the next size down. And dwarves were much wider.
Faunra took aim at the one that had been hit by Dame Rebekah and Jonathan. She dropped it between three arrows and a snowball that hit with the force of a rifle round. I'm making a mental note here to not ever pick a snowball fight with her. The giant that was out last was the one to receive the brunt of my pistol, getting three solid hits and rocking it back, providing the perfect opening for Dame Rebekah to behead it. Jonathan did scout around but said that he didn't think that there were any other fights going on. Dame Rebekah and I went around to check that the giants were all slain and that there was no one in need of help in the mansion. Dame Rebekah started conjuring water to put out the fire of the woodstove that had been knocked over carelessly. I tended to a few of the family's soldiers who were wounded, providing first aid to them where I could.
I heard my radio chirp and Jonathan came over. He told me that I was needed to head out there. I propped the soldiers up as best I could and made my way back out of the house. Jonathan and Faunra were standing next to a teakwood desk with gold and silver highlights. Jonathan pointed to a small hidden drawer in the bottom of the desk. I don't think that there is a kid in existence that could hide something if Jonathan wanted to find it. Take that porn stashes. There was a keyhole, which was why they had summoned me.
I pulled out my tools and got to work. It wasn't too long before the drawer fell open, with a flourish of paperwork. I looked at the others and they looked back. There was a series of silent communications. I asked Jonathan if he saw any other conflicts in the town. Jonathan looked over the bluff for a second, scanning, and came back with nothing. I focused up and started scanning the pages. It turned out that Titus was in league with the Sczarni, and had been having the other mills burned down. Now he was getting blackmailed by Jubrayl. I made a copy of every letter magically. I gently put the papers back in order and asked Jonathan and Faunra to get Dame Rebekah.
I stood there waiting for the both of them came back, and asked Faunra if there was anything else that she was worried about. Faunra thought for a minute and said that we needed to find out what the giants had really come for. I asked her what she meant, and she said that it was obvious that the group here was trying to raid the town, and that if it was just the town guard, they would have succeeded, but also that there were a lot of towns in the way that could have been raided first. We needed to find a giant who was still alive.
Dame Rebekah and Jonathan came out and Jonathan asked for the papers. She read through them and her eyes grew wider as she read. Dame Rebekah asked if this confirmed what we already knew. I nodded silently. Dame Rebekah said that we needed to get this to Sheriff Hemlock and the Mayor. She gave the impression that it needed to be done immediately. I asked her if we should let whoever is in the bag out first. Dame Rebekah actually paused to think about it. Dame Rebekah asked me if I thought that someone would be able to counter argue against this.
I pulled her aside, far outside of earshot of the people in the bag, and quietly told her that of what I knew about nobility, I wouldn't put it past them to try to weasel out of this by saying that the blackmailer was lying and was threatening to do this as a means of discrediting them since I personally have been causing so much damage to the person and family. Dame Rebekah nodded and asked what I would do. I thought about it before telling her that I really do believe that the people should be given the chance to defend themselves of the charges, but that they could possibly try to sneak away if it was known that we were bringing this immediately to the law. Dame Rebekah told me that this wasn't a suggestion.
I sighed and told her that if I had my way, I would have Jonathan take them, by levitating the wagon, to the Cathedral to be treated by Father Zantus. I would get them out of the bag just as we arrived, so that they could see that we saved them from the giants, and then took them immediately to be treated. Then I would go to see Sheriff Hemlock and present this to him, including the circumstances of how we found it. I would also put as much of the material here back into the proper condition, so that it doesn't look like we were looting, as that could give some shade on us. Dame Rebekah seemed to be following what I was saying very intently.
When I was done, she nodded and said that she could agree with that, and called Jonathan and Faunra over. Dame Rebekah told them that what we had found was very dangerous, and that we were going to have to play this very safe. She gave them orders on what we had to do, and why. There was some grumbling, but Faunra and Jonathan agreed, on the thought that this will remove a thorn in all of our sides in the long run.
Since the fighting had died down, at least from the ending of explosions and gunshots, we put things back as best we could and got the fine nobles to the cathedral so that Father Zantus and the acolytes could treat them. We bade Father Zantus to treat them as best he could, and we went to the North Gate to find Sheriff Hemlock. When we saw him, standing on the ramparts, looking out over the battlefield, there was a wisp of gun smoke coming from his revolver. Sheriff Hemlock looked back towards the town as we rode up and saw us. He waved with a smile on his face, and moved to the back of the ramparts and came down to talk to us.
Sheriff Hemlock was almost giddy with how well his small town had done against a horde of giants and an army of hobgoblins. He slapped me on the back, saying that the guns and the grenades were a big factor, and that he couldn't thank Savah and me enough for this. He saw Dame Rebekah and gave her a forearm handshake saying that he had seen how the walls had worked to keep the giants from flanking them and coming up from behind them, and that she and Chelger were a big part behind this. He looked to Faunra and thanked her for all of the intelligence and foresight that they had provided to the town, and then he looked to Jonathan and said that he had not forgotten that it was his keen eyes that were working to keep this town safe.
I know that I felt very humbled and appreciated by Sheriff Hemlock's thanks. I figured that the rest of the small group were also feeling similarly. Sheriff Hemlock told us that he would be having his guard keep an eye on the battlefield for any reinforcements, but that it seemed that it was all over, and that he wanted to talk to the Mayor about how much we had helped. Dame Rebekah looked at us and told him that there was something dire that we needed to talk to him and the Mayor about as well. The Sheriff caught the seriousness in her eyes and nodded, getting on his bike and heading towards the Glassworks.
It turned out that the Mayor had made a major push to get the townsfolk into the catacombs, and had been extremely successful. In fact, although they were not in danger any more, the townsfolk were all happily munching away on the meals that Jonathan had worked to quick prepare with his staff. The Mayor broke away from the group and noted that they had had some trouble at the same time down here, as shortly after the muffled explosions started, ghouls had dug their way into the tunnels. Luckily, Shalelu, Savah, Shayliss, and Chelger had made short work of them. I was even more proud now.
Sheriff Hemlock asked for Dame Rebekah to talk to the Mayor and him about what was so grave. Dame Rebekah presented him with the papers. Sheriff Hemlock looked them over and his mirth stripped away. He asked how we had uncovered these and Jonathan told him how the papers came out of the teakwood desk that had been looted from the mansion by the giants. Sheriff Hemlock whispered something to the Mayor, and her face went even more hostile. Mayor Deverin said that she would have to call a meeting of the rest of the town council about this. I offered up that nothing needs to be done immediately. In fact, I made copies of the papers, and if the Mayor wanted, she could have them. We could slip the papers back in the desk, and help get everything back in the Mansion to make sure that Titus wasn't suspicious.
The Mayors asked why we should do this. I told her that the witness needed to be confirmed, the evidence needed to be placed back in its location, and with the new information that the town had, they could build the case so that the Scarnettis could not find a way out of it. The Mayor looked at me shrewdly and asked why I would think of them doing that. I told her that this was a problem that my world had dealt with repeatedly in the past, and that they determined that they needed to ensure that the right villain got caught and punished.
The Mayor looked the Sheriff Hemlock, and Sheriff Hemlock noted that he had trust in us, especially after the brave things that he had seen us do during the fight. I thanked him and said that I just wished that I had been able to have a video of that fight, as it would have gone well with the music. I heard a chirp and a thought of self-satisfaction crossed my mind. Niddler appeared behind me with the phone. Apparently he had been using the camera function to record the battle while the hangouts wifi call broadcast the song around the field. I laughed and told them that Niddler had created the first music video.
All of watched it together as soon as I loaded it up. The recording didn't have any of the inspirational nature of the music initially, but I took that as a simple reduction in quality due to the ability to record multiple things. The Mayor was most amused by the bit of three people on the bike and said so. The Sheriff explained that this was even better than what he had expected to see, as it included the areas that he couldn't get a good look at from his vantage point. He noted that the two guards at the South bridge acquitted themselves very well. We all agreed, and I noted that if we were going to put this plan into action, we needed to head out.
Dame Rebekah agreed and said that we needed to look to see if there was a living giant left so we could find out why they were here specifically. Faunra and Jonathan agreed, so off we went. We didn't even bother to check the giants at the North Gate, as they had gotten hit by shrapnel from the grenades when the hobgoblins tried to use them as cover. Likewise, we didn't bother with the ones at Tanner Bridge, as the cave bears had fallen on them, and they had likely drowned anyway. No, we went directly to the one who had been wielding two pick-axes. Unfortunately, he was dead.
As was the one who I had struck second, he was dead as well. As luck would have the first one who I had struck when I had stuck down three in one round was still alive and stable. Jonathan asked us if we wanted him awake, and I said that it might help. Jonathan focused on bringing out the healing energy to bring the giant back to the land of the conscious. I asked the Giant what his name was. The giant looked at me oddly, and simply said Jolfumus. I nodded and wrote this down. The giant seemed really angry, and then I realized that the last thing that he must have seen was my gun pointing towards his head. I asked him how he was feeling.
Jolfumus looked at me oddly and asked why I wanted to know. I told him that I wasn't exactly from around here, and that I could understand that he might have been upset at me for shooting him but I had a really good reason. Jolfumus asked me why, and I told him that he had been about to eat my dinner, and I couldn't have that. Jolfumus looked at Dame Rebekah and I looked at her, and I shook my head, saying no, no, no, my chickens. Jolfumus was a bit confused, and I told him that I was sorry, but that I had promised my wife a chicken dinner, and that I was more worried about angering her than an army of giants.
The giant looked over me straight faced for a few seconds, and I asked him if he'd be more worried about what his partner might do if he pissed them off more than what an army of humans might try to do. Jolfumus agreed and seemed a bit more relaxed. I told him that I could get him a snack, since I was certain that he had marched a great distance in the pursuit of gold and glory, and that it would be a long march back. Jolfumus asked why I was just letting him go. I looked at him and told him that I had just said that I was more worried about pissing off my wife than an army of giants. She was going to be pissed enough at the mess that his group had made and I didn't really have time to try to explain how much better it would be to live in town and get easy gold than raiding and encountering those who might best him in battle.
Jolfumus was a bit confused, which was what I had intended. He asked what I meant by easy gold. I yawned and said that I needed to get the place cleaned, so that if he could just not make too much of a mess, I could clean and explain it. Jolfumus agreed and helped me by moving the bodies of the passed giants. I thanked him and explained how he had a unique set of capabilities, how he was so much taller than any of the humans here, and that there were jobs for those who might want to make an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.
Our captive asked why he would work for something so pitiful and small. I looked at him a bit odd, and asked him if he valued gold coins. Jolfumus admitted that he of course did. I asked him how much smaller than a human was a gold coin. Jolfumus was a bit silent as I went on. I told Jolfumus that more than magic or might, gold makes the world go round. Jolfumus asked me how that could be. I asked him if he would go fight a person if I paid him. Jolfumus said he would if he was paid well enough. I told him that my individual might didn't matter as long as I could pay him, as he could go smash what I needed to smash.
Jolfumus said that magic was a lot stronger than might. I told him that it might very well be, but I could hire a mage to cast whatever spell I needed with enough gold. Jolfumus laughed and said that it might be a lot of gold. I nodded, and said that it might very well be, but that it was still measured in gold, rather than in people. Jolfumus was confused, and I told him that everything might be broken down into a gold factor, of how much it cost to get something done, or to stop something from being done.
Jolfumus was even more perplexed. I asked Jolfumus why his first thoughts were might and magic? Jolfumus told me that he "never thought that little humans would defeat the Plateau People." I dutifully listened as he went on. "Well, I can tell you this: My lord is mighty Mokmurian, one of the dark giants of old come again. His magic, the things he has made... He has convinced the tribes that they will rule all the lowlands again, down to the sea. He has mastered the ancient arts." I followed along with my phone, recording this whole conversation.
Jolfumus was helping me clean up fallen rocks as we talked. "He will certainly kill you all, run rough over your tiny homes with the army he has called. The fortunate few will become his slaves. You beat us today, but you won't beat us when there are a hundred or a thousand of the Plateau People marching together. Lord Mokmurian will make it happen. He's almost as smooth a talker as you are, little one." He helped me remove the bodies of the deceased to a collected place just outside of town.
Jolfumus helped move the body of the dual pick-axe giant and pointed him out. "Teraktinus—he was the leader of our scouting party. He convinced us that you'd be easy pickings and we'd all get rich. He obviously underestimated you, and he paid for his mistake. I've no interest in paying for that mistake as well—grant me safe passage out of your lands, and I'll tell you everything you wish to know."
I thought about it for a minute and asked him how his people dealt with the deceased. Jolfumus was a bit confused and asked me why I wanted to know. I told him that I wanted to ensure that his people were put to rest as were appropriate to his culture. Jolfumus said that his people were placed in catacombs and cairns were raised, so that the giants could become one with the earth again. I nodded and said that I would dig the graves for each of them, if he could say a prayer for the passed in his cultural tradition. Jolfumus seemed very confused by this, and waited. When we had all of the deceased giants gathered (which accounted for all save another one, from the mansion), I asked him how long he thought that it would take to dig the graves for all of these giants.
Jolfumus looked me over and said that it would take me at least a day to dig just one down ten feet. I asked him if he would continue to talk to me if I could get all eleven dug today. Jolfumus laughed and said that if I could dig eleven graves in one day, he would convince the other giant to listen to my pitch. I pulled out my enchanted e-tool and started digging. Activation after activation, eighteen times, and I had a fifteen-foot-deep pit, ten foot by fifteen feet. Jolfumus laughed and said that I had used magic. I shook my head and told him that I had used gold. Gold had bought the enchantment for the shovel. Gold could have alternately hired a group of people to dig the pits.
Jolfumus seemed a bit chagrinned that I had turned his observation around on him so quickly. In truth, I was prepared from the start to have this conversation, if the path went this way. If he was more obstinate, I was prepared to just ask Jonathan or Faunra to try to get out of him what we needed. I paced off the needed distance and started on the next grave. Another two minutes and I had another grave done. Jolfumus gently placed the corpses into each grave as I finished.
While we did this, I asked Jolfumus if he could tell me more about this Mokmurian fellow. Jolfumus took a breather after he hefted another corpse into the newly dug grave. He answered me a bit tersely, "I already told you—he's our lord and leader. He promised us glory and riches, and although our raid on your town didn't go so well, that's because Teraktinus was a fool. When Lord Mokmurian marches down from the Storval Plateau, he will take from you everything."
I asked Jolfumus if he particularly liked following Mokmurian. He seemed a bit confused. I told Jolfumus that he didn't HAVE to live on the Storval Plateau, like others throughout time, if he didn't like the leadership that he was under, and if he couldn't change that leadership, he could move elsewhere. Jolfumus asked where he could move to, and I shrugged and said that I could put in a good word for them at either Magnimar or at Fort Rannick. Jolfumus asked why he would want to live at either. I shrugged again and said that Magnimar was always a place where he could find good, honest work and Fort Rannick could always use people with knowledge of how stone works. Especially as they could use hired help to rebuild the damage that had been done to Storval Dam.
Another grave dug, another body deposited. I ventured to ask Jolfumus more about Mokmurian, specifically what was he. Jolfumus was a bit less recalcitrant in his response. He told me that he had only heard him speak from afar, and have only heard from others of the power of his magic. He is the rarest of us all, a child of the stones who has mastered the magic of the Ancient Lords. They say he can turn the living into immobile stone and can turn his own flesh into granite armor. I've even heard he can cause the very stones of the world to quicken and pull those who stand atop them into a tomb below the earth. And I'm sure he can do much more than that." I nodded as I listened, digging the next grave.
I told Jolfumus that we had dealt with someone who had the power to turn flesh into stone, and he said that this was powerful magic. I added that the person could do so because they had a magic item. Jolfumus finished for me that they had bought it with gold. I nodded and said that Mokmurian might be able to do these things without magic items, but that just meant that he had spent his gold to acquire skills rather than items to do the work for him. I added that this was frequently the wiser choice personally, but asked Jolfumus what would happen if I was the only one who could cast the spell that dug the holes in town, and I disappeared.
Jolfumus thought and said that the holes would be harder to dig. I agreed and said that as long as the item was able to be transferred, that meant that the town could utilize it rather than just one person. I added that by choosing to use all of his resources on himself learning magic, he was depriving the town of the ability to further expand the knowledge to other things. Jolfumus looked confused, and I asked him if he knew how I had defeated him. He pointed to my pistol. I nodded and told him that except for a simple enhancement, it was not very magical.
All of the capability behind it was in the knowledge in how to make it, and what was required to make it. I told him that I was seeking to pass along the information to others, so that they could take this knowledge and expand on it. Jolfumus still didn't pick up what I was referring to, so I asked him what all could digging a hole accomplish. Jolfumus said that it could dig a grave, a well, a trench, a foundation, a river. I stopped him at that. I asked him if I only thought to dig graves, what would happen to the other uses.
Jolfumus thought and said that others would have to dig them the hard way. I nodded, and said that by distributing knowledge, I hoped that all of the uses of my knowledge would be figured out by people much smarter or capable than I. Jolfumus said that this sounded nothing like the Ancient Lords. I asked what they were, and he told me that "they are gone now, but our elders tell us they once ruled over our ancestors, enslaved them, forced them to build the monuments that grace Varisia even today. Many of my brothers believe that Mokmurian is one of these Ancient Lords risen from the past to rebuild his empire."
I nodded and noted that we had been having to deal with the fallout from these "Ancient Lords" more frequently in the past few months. I asked him why he would want to be part of a civilization where the main person is claiming to be part of the group that enslaved his ancestors. Jolfumus asked why I would care about his people being enslaved. I told him that my ancestors had fought to free the ancestors of others because it was the right thing to do. Jolfumus asked if I would do that for his people. I told him that I would, but that it would be difficult if I had to fight through all of the people that Mokmurian was tyrannizing.
I followed up with asked Jolfumus how many giants there were in the Storval Plateau. Jolfumus answered that Mokmurian "has at least seven tribes of under his command, with each tribe numbering in the dozens. The number of lesser kin he's conscripted—ogres, hill giants, ettins, trolls—is not insignificant. He also enjoys the support of several lamias—degenerate followers of the Mother of Monsters." I nodded at the last bit thoughtfully. I expected Echidna to raise her head again, but I had hoped not so soon.
Another grave made and another body placed. We were running out of giants. I asked Jolfumus a tricky question. I asked him how long it would take before Mokmurian marched on Sandpoint. Jolfumus seemed a bit less haughty when he replied. "I am not sure. He sent several scouting parties, of which my band was but one, into these lowlands to gather intelligence. He does this to prepare for his coming attack. His fury will come soon. Perhaps even by month's end." I asked him for clarification on the month's end, as it was the 29th. He laughed and said that it was likely next month's end, but might be sooner. He thought that it would have been obvious if the entire clan was dogging his steps. I laughed too, and asked him what it would be like, them all trying to hide behind tiny shrubs to not be noticed so his crew could go scouting, only for them to show up the next minute?
We both laughed a good laugh before we made another grave and put another soul in it. I asked Jolfumus exactly how far he had come, as we had made it back from Hook Mountain a while ago. Jolfumus nodded and said that Mokmurian "has claimed a place taboo to my people: The Valley of the Black Tower in the Iron Peaks. He calls his fortress Jorgenfist, after the name of the fortress that guards the entrance to the afterlife. Our elders found the name blasphemous, but Mokmurian is powerful enough not to fear blasphemy."
I asked Jolfumus about Jorgenfist, telling him that I was curious about why Mokmurian would pick that name. Jolfumus told me that, "Jorgenfist lies within the Valley of the Black Tower in the Iron Peaks. It overlooks the waters of the Muschkal River, but can also be approached by heading east from the Storval Stairs. Lord Mokmurian himself dwells deep below Jorgenfist—in hidden places he does not allow us to visit." I nodded and said that a lot of people who liked to keep information and knowledge to themselves to ensure their power remains with them. Jolfumus asked me if this was about my school. I told him it was, and that I prized the free flow of information above all else.
I told Jolfumus that I was still confused about one thing, as I made the last giant grave. Jolfumus asked what it was, and I asked him why Sandpoint. Jolfumus answered that Teraktinus was supposed to steal a piece of the stone tower for Mokmurian, but as to why he couldn't say. Jolfumus said that Teraktinus had mentioned having a special mission from Lord Mokmurian, but didn't tell me why it was to steal the stone. Didn't tell any of us. My people's elders have ways of prying secrets from the stones—perhaps that stone knew something that Lord Mokmurian needed to learn?".
I thanked him and asked if I could ask him one more question, as Jolfumus deposited the corpse of Teraktinus in the grave. Jolfumus said that he would answer it if he could. I asked him why the giants were trying to take prisoners. Jolfumus told me that "The prisoners were those who we thought were guiltiest of greed." Now that he had talked with me some, he realized that my house probably wasn't the best choice to attack. I nodded and asked if he'd be okay with saying the prayers now. Jolfumus said that he was, and he started at the first body and moved his way down.
One of the town guard, Paltero, came up to me quietly and whispered to me, asking if they could borrow the shovel for disposing of the hobgoblins. I handed it to him, and noted that this giant might be able to talk with the other giant and calm it down once I was done talking to them. Paltero nodded and headed off. After Jolfumus said the blessings for the giants, I asked if he would like me to set up stone cairns over each. Jolfumus asked if I had a magic item that would do this. I told him that I did, and that it cost good money for this kind of flexibility. He nodded and I went to each grave, piling wall upon wall conjured from my gloves into the graves, with Jolfumus' help to get them lined up right and the extra pieces of rock piled correctly.
When we were done, Jolfumus asked me what he could do that would bring in money here. I told him that while the town wasn't severely damaged in the attack, in fact most of the damage had occurred to walls that I had been having made either to my property or around my property, there was still a good job that needed to be done. I told him that I could put him into contact with the Lord-Mayor of Magnimar, as he was interested in having an actual high quality road made between Sandpoint and Magnimar, to extend even further. I added that I had originally planned on doing it myself, but that I would be glad if he could convince the other giant to go in on it with him, and they could get a reputation for fast reliable builders.
Jolfumus said that he would think about it, but would like to know what he and his crew should do for shelter. I told him that we could easily splurge and buy the pair of giants (and a cave bear that ended up surviving somehow too) a pavilion tent, and they could have the bear pull a great big wagon with their supplies. I would head to Magnimar the next day after he told me that he had gotten the other three to agree. Jolfumus said that he would talk to the others, a bit more excited, but that he might want to have me there to talk to them as well. I told him that we would be available to talk to them as much as they needed.
In the end, I walked back with Jolfumus to where the other giant and the cave bear were resting, somewhat peacefully. I looked to Jolfumus, and he nodded. I got Jonathan to come over and wake up the sleeping giant. He did so and the giant looked to be ready to brawl, but Jolfumus steadied it. He asked it to wait a minute before it tried to go on a rampage. I waited in the back for the scene to calm down. Jonathan stepped back outside to minimize the tension. Jolfumus told the other giant, actually giantess, Forsetta that he had been talking to me, and that what I was offering made some sense.
Forsetta looked to me, not really willing to wait too much, but doing so because it was in her interest to do so right now. I told her that I had talked with Jolfumus, this is true, and that he had told me that the group had come to Sandpoint seeking riches and glory. I told her that I had tried to show him that raiding was a sucker's bet, because if a society had enough wealth to be good enough to raid, then it had enough wealth to be well defended, case in point, Sandpoint. I was trying to bring this up quick, and told her that it was my proposal that the two of them join together and offer their services, for pay, to the city of Magnimar. In return for the fee that is agreed, they will build the road between Sandpoint and Magnimar.
If this deal turns out well, I added, I knew someone who might be willing to broker on their behalf for other projects. I told her that their natural gifts would be a boon when it came to construction work, where they could get things done in stone so much easier, and the quality would be so much higher than a regular craftsman. Forsetta seemed to be at least somewhat mollified by the praise. I added that I would personally by the both of them a pavilion tent so that they would have some degree of shelter while we sorted out the trip to Magnimar.
Forsetta asked if they could have the night to think this over. I said that I would be okay with that, but that I would like to know soon, as we still had a lot of work to do with repairing the damage that had been done. Forsetta said that they would be fine if we could find a cave somewhere. I told them that if they attacked anyone in town, I would be forced to rescind any offer I had made and put them to death. Immediately. But that I knew where a cave was that they could shelter in for the night. Jonathan came in and floated the bear to the beach while I walked them down to where I had killed the goblins in my pajamas all so long ago. They both seemed appreciative of the surroundings and took some time to set themselves up with bedding.
I scarcely realized that it was only noonish by this point. Barely a morning had gone by and we had packed so much into it. I headed back to the Garrison and caught up with Sheriff Hemlock. Belor wanted to know what we were doing with the giants who had lived. I told him that I was trying to convince them to help out with the town and some of the changes that I was looking to make. Sheriff Hemlock noted that he was not that okay with it, even with me vouching for them, but that if we could get more information from them, he could see fit to letting them escape. I told him that I'd pay for their meals today myself, and that I was having the two of them rest in the cave overlooking the sea below the Glassworks. I asked him if he could have a guard or two keep an eye over them for the rest of the day, and if they made any false moves to give a warning or just shoot the one who does.
Sheriff Hemlock said that he'd task Oren and Arika with that, and I told him that this would be perfect, as they knew a lot about how I thought, and could talk to the giants a bit if it came to it. Sheriff Hemlock asked if I was worried about the giants. I told him that my group took out the giants once, and we were not healing them up past just enough to be conscious, so if it came to it, they would not be as difficult to deal with. Sheriff Hemlock said that he could understand that, and that he'd send the orders to Orik and Arika.
I went over to the Mayor's office and waited to talk to her. After a few minutes, an aide came over and told me to go ahead on in to the Mayor's office. Inside were the Mayor, Father Zantus, Ameiko, Kaye, and Ilsoari. I went in and was silent for a minute before the mayor spoke. The Mayor told me that the town was deeply indebted to the group for everything we had done to prepare it, and that there was no reward that was sufficient for what all we had accomplished. The Mayor was absolutely ecstatic when she announced that there were no casualties among those who had been in the town, and that the only wounds to speak of had been quickly dealt with by the resident clergy.
The Mayor continued that the information that had been passed on to them from our discoveries had been restricted to those of the council that were not currently in healing or sequestered in their houses. The Mayor brought forth the copies of the papers that I had made. She gave them to the council and each member read them in turn. Kaye looked to be absolutely furious. The Mayor told the council that she had asked me about what I would do and asked me to repeat it to the council. I did so, and added that if we were to root out the serpents gnawing at Sandpoint's roots, we needed to be wise and prepared rather than impulsive and impudent.
Father Zantus nodded along with me, but asked what I would have done. I told him that if it were up to me, I would try to turn one of the underlings of Jubrayl and have him tell us when the next meeting between him and Titus would be, but that this is not needed in this realm, because magic exists, and we can use spells to get a good idea of when it might be. Ilsoari nodded and said that certain divinations could do this. I told him that we could do some checks and find out when it was most likely to be a circumstance when they would be doing this exchange. Ameiko nodded and noted that this was the best plan that we could do.
Ameiko stopped for a second and noted that she needed to talk to me after the meeting. I nodded and asked if there was anything else. Each one of the town council made a comment that they needed no further information at this point, and the Mayor ended the impromptu meeting. Ameiko caught up with me as I waited outside the Mayor's office and asked to see it. We went to an office and I showed her what Niddler had recorded. Ameiko watched the whole thing and noted that the music wasn't inspiring like it was when they were playing. I noted that recording usually lost some of the quality of the performances, unless they were specially performed in a way that kept the quality, so it was to be expected.
Ameiko then surprised me by asking if there were any other songs that could be done like that. I sighed and pulled up the music player on my phone. I set it to play in alphabetical order starting at the top and showed her how to pause, skip, reverse, increase and decrease the volume and turn the phone off. I told her that the music would only play for a few hours with the current charge, but that if she had a decent enough ear, she could listen for a little bit on each song and see if the group of them could perform it. When she did that, we could set up a playlist so that she could catch the music and transcribe it with the help of the others.
Ameiko smiled as I handed her the cell phone and said that she'd get it back to me tomorrow. I thanked her for her help today, and asked her to pass it along to the others as well. She said that she would, and that if this all turned out well, Savah and I would be invited to the first performance in Magnimar that they did. I thanked her and told her that we would be honored, but that I was certain that the Lord-Mayor would be eager to be the honored guest. Ameiko agreed, but noted that it was like the elderberry wine. I smiled and we parted ways.
As I left the town hall I headed towards the Bolting Barghest. I was joined by Faunra and Dame Rebekah as they both came over from the backside of the town hall building. We made our way to the restaurant where Savah, Shalelu, and Chelger were waiting just outside. We greeted each other with a large amount of relief and pride. I told Savah that I was exceptionally proud of how she well she had trained the town guard and how well she comported herself in the defense of the town. Savah beamed with pride and said that she had heard about what had happened at the house from Jonathan.
We all walked into the restaurant together and sat down at a table. Jonathan and Shayliss came out with a platter of steaks and vegetables, perfectly cooked, and a pitcher of cider. Faunra used her powers to chill it to perfection, while Jonathan levitated the liquid itself into the individual cups. I flavored each one according to what people wanted, and Dame Rebekah gave a blessing to all of us. It was a perfect set up for our post-fight meal.
We all sat and relayed the best or scariest part of the short fight. Jonathan offered up the way I took down three giants in a few scant moments. I countered with the way that he had taken out the dragon like he did. Faunra talked about how Dame Rebekah had jumped off the bridge wall to slice into the giant, and Dame Rebekah laughed in good nature about the three of us riding on the bike, with Faunra literally just hanging on.
Savah's crew offered up their own observations, of how Chelger had invoked the beauty of Shelyn to turn a group of ghouls amassing to charge the people into glittery dust. Shalelu commented on how Shayliss had slipped into her personae seamlessly, looking like a very incarnation of Calistria with her whip and dagger. Shalelu offered up how Savah had been performing kill shots left and right, taking down the horde of undead before they could get close to a person, and Savah recognized Shalelu's pinpoint precision as well. All in all, everyone had something good to say about another person in their fights.
All of Jonathan's staff were off for the day, having either hidden in the tunnels or participating in the battle of the bards, and the people of the tunnels were going back to their lives to see how very little damage ended up being done as a whole to the town. They walked among the rest of the town, knowing that they were much safer than they would have been if the eight of us had not been here. The Bolting Barghest was closed for the night, so we didn't need to be worried about being interrupted. I briefed all of the people on what I had learned from Jolfumus. There were nods and laughs as the story went. I asked if the table thought that we should follow up on this quickly.
Around the table, everyone all agreed that we needed to make sure that an even larger force did not invade the town, as even with all of our tricks and gimmicks it was likely that the town would be brought down. I brought up the information that we had discovered from the desk of Titus Scarnetti, and how the Mayor wanted to know if we could find out when the next meeting between the two. Chelger and Dame Rebekah noted that they could perform some divinations tomorrow morning when they were granted another set of miracles that they could perform. I noted that I needed to get my phone back to do my own form of divination.
We talked a bit more about the possible futures of the stone giants that had lived through the raid. I told them about what I had talked to Jolfumus about, and how I thought that they could make an honest living with the road work and other construction. Chelger asked a little haughtily if I really thought that road construction was honest work. I replied back deadpan that it was honest enough work for my father. I calmed down almost immediately as I noticed the look of horror on Chelger's face. I apologized for getting huffy, it was just something that I had to deal with growing up.
We all calmed down and enjoyed some more stories about everything that had occurred, and I promised to show everyone the music video tomorrow night when I got my phone back and it had been charged. Everyone agreed to be at Savah and my place for show tomorrow, but noted that they needed to head home. Except, of course, for Jonathan and Shayliss, who were already home. We split up at around four in the afternoon, and I took Savah with me to go check on Forsetta and Jolfumus. We rode the bike down to the glassworks and parked before dismounting and heading the rest of the way on foot.
Jolfumus was the one who greeted us and asked if this was the woman whose wrath I feared more than a giant's. I told him that indeed it was. I introduced Savah to Jolfumus and Forsetta. Forsetta seemed to be a bit more standoffish. I told Jolfumus that I hated to intrude, but that I wanted to know if there were any questions that we could answer that might help them make up their minds. Forsetta stood up and moved forward a bit faster than I would have liked and she asked me why I thought that they should be servants to little men like me.
I looked at Savah and said that I was very confused, and apologized as something must have been lost in translation. I told her that what I had proposed was that the two of them being in charge of their own company. I told them that my father was in road construction, and that I felt it was a noble and vital profession. I added that I hoped that the roads would be sparse enough to not truly despoil the natural terrain, but that I felt that their natural capabilities with stone work, that they could charge a decent fee for whatever they deemed that they would build, that their newness alone would get them contracts, and that when their reputation preceded them, they could pick and choose the jobs with the most desired benefits or prestige.
Forsetta asked if it meant that they would be forced to work against their will. I told her only in as much as they would work to make the contracts as they agreed and to the extent that the contracts specifically required. Forsetta asked if there was a requirement to work for any specific person. I told her straight forward that the business might need to work at least occasionally for the Lord-Mayor, but that he paid those who worked for him really well. Forsetta asked how well, and Savah replied back that he paid us much better than what any normal lord to root out some cultists in the city.
Forsetta pondered it for a minute, and Savah threw the final pitch. Savah offered to be their agent for talking to the Lord-Mayor the first time. Savah also buttered them both up by saying that the Lord-Mayor had already declared the need for this road, and that he'd initially approached us with it. Subcontracting it out means that he gets it done quicker, the work is still vouched for by us, and they get all the money for the work that they do. Jolfumus grinned ear to ear with that. Forsetta even seemed to crack. They looked over at each other and then back to us. Forsetta said that they could do this deal.
Savah smiled and said that we would ride tomorrow or the next day to talk to the Lord-Mayor. I added that there was a condition, but it was a minor one. Jolfumus looked a little perturbed by this addition, and I asked him to wait until I was done explaining. I told them both that we would need to have a pair of the town watch posted within decent proximity of the cave, so that they could make sure that a mob of villagers didn't try to kill them and get hurt in the attempt. Jolfumus asked if they were there to make sure that the giants didn't escape. I told him that we had just practically made a business deal with them, the last thing that I wanted was to make it so that they felt the need to run off. I told them that no, the town guard that was would be with them are my cousin and his wife. I smiled and noted that we had turned a town requirement into a way to get them more acclimated to working with us by getting to know more of my family.
Forsetta laughed and asked if they should be more worried Savah's ability with a gun or my ability with words. I laughed back and replied that she had it backwards, that my ability with guns was probably what needed to be worried about as much as Savah's, while her gift with words was much better than mine. We all chuckled and I told them that we would send some food and drink their way in a little bit. We parted as friends and I noted to Savah that today sure was a busy one. Just as we were heading back to the house, we saw a wagon heading back towards the town with something large and bloody underneath a tarp. Jonathan was walking in front of the wagon and hailed us.
We stopped and greeted him. Apparently he was starting up a big barbecue tomorrow to celebrate the victory, with the dire bears being the source of the food. What was underneath the tarp was the dragon's corpse, who would be made into high end food. Apparently Red Dragon meat was spicier, while Black Dragon was acerbic. Go figure. I asked Jonathan if he could provide a meal to the two giants who were in the cave below the glassworks. Jonathan agreed that he would, and Savah and I thanked him and wished him well as we parted and we made our way back to check in on our chickens.
It turned out that we didn't end up losing any chickens or goats, but the building was damaged and the eggs for the day were completely gone. If that was all that we lost in this whole encounter, we were doing outstanding. Just a few scant months ago, the town had lost people to a goblin attack. Now they weathered a barrage of giants, ghouls, hobgoblins, and a dragon, and had come out no only on top, but in very solid condition. There was so little damage to the town that most of the townsfolk were a bit unbelieving that there had even been an actual assault. Savah and I watched from our upper level porch to see people making their way back home. We caught a glimpse of Lars, who was making his way back to the Tannery, and waved to us.
Niddler flew up to the porch and stopped in between Savah and me. Niddler sent to me an apology that unfortunately, there were no eggs today. I nodded and sent back to him that he was still the best farm watcher that I knew. Niddler curled up where he was, and Savah and I held hands to watch the sun set. After a while of quiet contemplation, Savah asked me if I was happy. I told her that I was without even having to really think about it. I added that I was happy with her, and that I was happy with what we were doing. I finished that about the only thing that I wasn't happy with was the amount of times that this town was getting attacked by things from outside of it. Savah laughed and said that such is life in a frontier town.
We both agreed that it was time to head in, and we got out of our gear to get into more comfortable clothes. Savah took the chance to get a light dinner together while I set up her favorite movie. Savah and I sat down on a couch and we watched The Princess Bride while we ate our meal. By the time that it was over, Savah had fallen asleep with her head on my lap. I summoned up an unseen servant to open the doors for us, and to clean and wash the dishes. I gently got up and carried Savah to the bedroom. We were already in our pajamas, so I had the unseen servant turn down the bed and I lowered her on to it. I headed over to the other side to finish my notes of the day before turning in.