Private Tales Civilizations Edge

[Jair]

On the edge of civilization near the border of many nations there was a tavern, a large (big enough to accommodate a very large giant) log built cabin, its vaulted high roof was thatched with sod, it had opaque glass windows, and a large fire pit in the middle. There were about twenty long tables, and a section made to accommodate larger folk. The tavern was on the edge of a ramshackle village where some of the adventuring sort retired to be left alone. Jair was there, and most villagers knew it, every one knew when a giant was in town, that was easy a giant was not exactly stealthy for one, and for another food stores ran low, almost all consumable stores ran low.

Among giants, Jair was a big one, he was as tall as they came, and had weight to spare. With in the largest part of the tavern he was there, at a great table leaning against the wall roaring with laughter. He had gallons of dark stout, in fact all of the dark stout in the tavern now belonged to him, he also had en entire cask of whiskey on his table. Nearly twenty pounds of beef, and another ten of pork in front of him ready to eat, with even more in the middle of the great table waiting to be fed on by potential guests which there looked to be a few.

The giant was in a very good mood for the most part red in face, and quite jovial sharing in good fortune. He was enjoying being the jovial brute. The only part he didn't find good for the soul was lack of a good bar maid. Or well at least on that didn't come up to his knee. He shrugged it off, and made merry with what he had.

 

[Am'Thet]

In the far corner of the tavern, a woman sat alone. A women covered in scales, tasting the air with her forked tongue. There wasn't many people in the tavern, only her, a few humans, and a giant. He'd been there when she came in, and he's been enjoying himself quite a bit. The smell of cooked meat and sweat drifted through the air, intoxicating her senses. Before the giant sat a feast fit for kings, which in all likelihood was just a regular meal to the hulking behemoth. So focused was Am'Thet on the giant, that she didn't even notice the waitress walking up to her.

"What can I get for you, Ma'am?" Startled, Am'Thet spun to face the waitress. She was a fair looking woman, with long blond hair and pointy elf ears. Behind the smell of sweat and ale, Am'Thet could smell the forest on her. Realizing she was hyper analyzing this woman, she turned her mind to answering her question. "Ale please, as well as some pork. If there's any left." Am'Thet's voice was raspy and crude, you had to pay close attention to even hear what she was saying. Nonetheless, the waitress simply nodded and walked off. Hopefully she understood what I said, Am'Thet thought to herself as she turned her gaze back onto the giant.

 

[Jair]

You know that feeling when a predator is watching you, well Jair doesn't get that enough to really recognize it. But he did catch that, a particular she-naga was eyeing him. She looked good to his eyes, the exoticism of scales, over flesh, and colors other than varrious shades of brown caught his eye. He never did stop laughing except to make sure that what ever drink that what was in his cask was offered to the she-naga.

It was not wine, but the Giant treated his booze just like any other fine booze. This was whisky, very good whiskey almost as expensive as some hoity toity wines. It was an invitation to the lady, there was plenty of food, and drink to be had. Even for ones so large as he, and his companions, and he was generous with his food.

 

[Am'Thet]

The waitress brought her order, a plate of pork and a mug of whiskey from the giant's cask. She recognized it as an invitation from the giant, to share in his feast, an offer which came as quite a surprise. It's not often someone is friendly to her, mostly due to her being a Naga. When she expected distrust and even outright hostility, she instead got fkindness and the hand of friendship.

Brushing her thoughts aside, she slid some coins towards the waitress as payment, with a few extra as a tip. Naturally, she snatched the coins away, examined them, and then pocketed them, walking away to serve the other guests. In the meantime, Am'Thet continued to watch the giant, contemplating on when to make a move.

 

[Jair]

Jair kept a half drunken eye on the lady naga, what she might have considered a mug was more or less a shot for one such as himself. He powered one down, and followed up with a drink from his dark stout, in a gallon jug sized tankard. A close observation of his mannerisms though would show that he was not near as drunk as he made out to be. His drinking wasn't sloppy, nor was his eating, it was a show giants were expected to act a certain way, and if he didn't well then suspicions might be aroused. It was fun being the giant though, and he told some crude jokes about how there is no difference between a barmaid, and a princess in the dark except that the princess is less skilled in the arts of massage, he gave toasts to wives, and girlfriends... may they never meet!

He laughed loudly, and raucously his voice causing the timbers above his head, but there was nothing really malicious toward him. He was something more of a big ol' teddy bear. A teddy bear that could pound a person into the ground like a tent stake, and has had on multiple occasions, but a teddy bear none the less. More drinks,and jokes flowed, as beer, and other asorted goods, were sent to the lady naga's table.

 

[Am'Thet]

Am'Thet, to say the least, was quite flustered. A steady stream of servers ferried beer and other goods from the giant's table to hers. From across the room, the giant bellowed, telling jokes that everyone laughed to, even herself. She was quite amused, flattered even, by this lumbering buffoon. Yet, she didn't understand the giant's intentions. Was he trying to become friends with her, or was he trying to lure her into trusting him. He didn't seem to be malicious, nor did she really believe that the giant would have any malicious intent in the first place. Whatever his reasoning was, Am'Thet wanted to know.

Taking a sip of her whiskey, Am'Thet continued to observe the giant. Her tail swished impatiently, her curiosity starting to get to her. Yet she didn't want to make the first move, for a plethora of reasons. So she resigned herself to her table, taking a bit of her pork, waiting for the behemoth to try to talk to her.

 

[Jair]

The giant, decided to take the bait, and rose, and rose, and rose to his full twenty feet of height, and then stooped under the rafters. He plodded along as gently as he could, giants tend to cause impact tremors even when walking normally. Dust shimmied off of the rafters. He was lucky, the tavern was high vaulted, but still he had to duck to the point where he was stooping, and his back was with in a foot of the ceiling of the middle sized peoples part. Ehh he was close enough.

"Hello there" he said smiling "I have seen you before in the red mist, and I was wondering, what I might do to win, an exotic beauty such as your self?" he asked it would have been bold save for him stooping over. It wasn't his fault humans didn't build their places big enough to accommodate giants. But he did try.

 

[Am'Thet]

Am'Thet shuddered at the mention of the dreadful mist, chills going down her spine. Thinking back, she remembered the giant from the mist, along with other painful memories. Pushing her thoughts away, she turned her attention back to the giant."Ahh yes, I remember you. Jair was it?" She hadn't directly spoken to thee giant during that time, but she did happen to overhear his name.

She hesitated for a moment, glancing around the bar. She didn't know how to respond to the giant's request. While she was quite flattered, she was also kinda angry. The fact that this giant thought of her as an exotic beauty upset her a little, even though she knew it was supposed to be a compliment. Taking a deep breath, she looked up towards the giant. "Well...I guess you could do something for me."

 

[Jair]

The Giant warmed into a smile "How may I help you?" He asked still stooped over in a goofy sort of way. She was strong, quite articulate, and approachable, he thought as he waited for her answer. His thought than started running the gamut of what she may ask. That something could be anything from getting her another drink, to tearing into a village, ransacking it, and grabbing their holy relic of protection just for the funzies. The former excited him, the latter worried him, and he hoped that she wouldn't ask for anything resembling the latter.

But never the less he waited patiently for her answer. Again the speculation was something his mind loved to do during the eternity of seconds that he would have to wait for her to consider her options, and give him the quest to win her affections.