Quest Reliving the Tales

[Faurosk]

The situation had become significantly less tense over what felt like mere moments, even if the sudden appearance of another giant startled Faurosk for a brief time. The mage lowered his hands back to his sides, stooping a moment to reclaim his staff before following the other humans passed Ragna and into the campgrounds.

He heeded the giant's warning as best he could, nodding his head momentarily to the right in agreement. Perhaps he didn't 'see' too much as she had phrased it, but there had been many occasions whereupon his questions had gotten him into more trouble than he could handle. So, he simply nodded to the giant while making perfect eye contact with the ground he trotted over, muttering a quiet "Duly noted" to no one in particular.

His familiar wiggled its way out of Rainie's arms, hopping to the snow and rejoining its master at his side while wagging its tail all the while. It gave off an excited bark up to Faurosk before he place a finger to his lips and shushing the pup, kneeling down to address it more directly. "Yes, Dustmop, they're very big, but let's be polite. Alright?"

The dog wiggled about for a moment before sitting begrudgingly, peering up at the two giants with an expression that read 'Can you believe this guy?' The mage then rose once more, turning back to speak up to Bergelmir and Ragna once more. "And, ah, don't mind my companion, here," he said, then cupping a hand around half of his mouth to 'block' it from Rainie's sight before continuing in a stage whisper easily heard by all parties, "She's a helpless flirt like that."

 

[Rainie]

A snowball went hurtling with deadly aim at the back of Faurosk’s head.

Rainie had already moved to the closest giant and was peppering them with questions. “Is there truly a dragon? Have any of you seen it? When will we head out? Faurosk and I are quite well rested, you see. Oh, I’m so sorry, Weylin neglected to mention your names! May I know them?”

She should probably shut her mouth. Or at least slow down. But her heart was still racing in her chest! She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face and her eyes were gleaming with far too much energy. Her first time meeting real, live giants and she’d likely be squished for annoying them.

How could she help herself, really? She’d grown up with tales of dragons and knights and princesses. She and her brother had acted out countless battles against the imaginary beasts. But this wasn't imaginary. These were not only tales.

Ragna Bergelmir Weylin Kyrel Faurosk Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil Vigil

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

Things seemed to be going well enough. Weylin's giant friends, or overlords, were acting about how he had come to expect. What was odd though was how Rainie seemed to be flirting with Ragna a bit. Was he just imagining that? Probably. His mind felt as if it had given into delusion of late with so many tales coming true one after another. It was impossible anymore for him to know what was wise or a lie.

"She is lovely. Also can knock the wind from your chest with a light tap." Weylin responded to Rainie. He was more or less ignored though. He kind of figured that might happen. If anything it was more to see if it threw off Ragna or not. Be a little payback for all of the breath she had forced out of him up till now.

Weylin turned his attention to Bergelmir and nodded to him again in reply. "None from the Spine are foolish enough to be near something that could eat them if they can help it. They also thought I was crazed or a liar. Pelted me with rotten fruit." Hopefully that answered the question. His turn now. "Why did you boom before? See a hare with antlers?" Another tale of the Spine. The critter was suppose to bring great luck to any who caught it but misfortune to those who saw it and did not.

With that out of the way Weylin walked over by Ragna. He said to her after Rainie had asked her assault of questions, "I'll find a meal for our new companions and you. Boar or deer? Saw tracks for both near the river."

Vigil

 

[Vigil]

Walking out into the sight of the Giants, I had spoken loud enough to gather the attention of one. With due haste, a physical response of defense was made. Not sure why he would feel that way. A puny stature compared to that of this being. I kept my hands up as he spoke. Asking for what I was doing.

In all honesty, I was not sure at all. My mind wanted to ask every question I could. My body wanted to run as fast as I could, or fight for my very life. My gut told me that should I fight, I would lose. Should I hide, their massive strides would easily find me. More so, the Giantess has massive weapons about her. Easily weighing more than a carriage to carry crops, addition to the crops themselves. Attempts of opening of a mouth resulted in no sound, no noise. Just confusion as to why I couldn't speak. Stunned to silence? A feline catching my tongue? Sudden case of the Mute? No. Moreso, I could feel a presence drawing closer. More specifically, blood.

The Giant, and giantess has peculiar blood. Different, however, something else was tickling the senses of my mind. One that seemed to be pure to some degree. Almost as though it were sanitized of all sin, and filled with life. I had never felt this before at all. With feeling it, I closed my eyes. Attempting to feel what the source was. My own veins wishing to taste this blood. Why was it so different?

My answer came quickly with the Giantess speaking out. Proclaiming humans were coming. From which, everything exploded. Magic and power was clearly felt from them. While maybe not all of them were gifted, or cursed with such abilities, I could feel them all the same within the iron in my veins. The Giants spoke to the humans as though they knew each other. Speaking of dragons and mythical creatures. Finally after it seemed there was a break in the various voices, I was able to once more speak.

"Wait you guys are hunting a Dragon? I thought they were considered near extinct? And why such a small party to do so?"

This perplexed me. Stories of old spoke of dragons being able to decimate entire armies, and cities with ease. While one could kill the creature in their blissful sleep within their domain, If it woke, surely the fight would lead to the inevitable death of those within close proximity. However, tales of their magical power and gifts were spread far and wide. Even more so of their blood. Blood that could power spells and magic for a time well past the human life span. While all magic was finite in time, Dragons were so powerful with their gifts, it ran within their blood, deep in their bones, even after death.

"Why kill it?"

 

[Ragna]

One human was tolerable. Several were far too loud. She was a little lost for words and struggling to keep up with them. Ragna found herself ignoring the babble of questions and speech, stepping back a few paces from both them and Bergelmir. She placed her maul down, leaning it against a tree and stepping away. Her quest for silence was interrupted by Weylin and she grimaced.

"We have some meat" she said, indicating the remains of a kill, "But if you judge more is needed, then hunt". She was still uncertain how much the humans would need to eat. There were four of them now and making enough noise for forty. Her fist clenched but she held back the urge. "They are your kind" she said, as if that explained it all.

She sat with a grunt and poked at the fire with a branch. She wasn't sure how much use these humans would be unless the plan was to use them as bait. Even a dragon might baulk if they were that talkative.

 

[Bergelmir]

A small laugh by his standards came from him as Ragna backed away and sat down by the fire. Mention of hunting had him ignoring the rest of that conversation as the odd human spoke. He turned his attention to him and spoke.

"I do not believe humans are keen to helping our kind. Those here are liken to be curious about what our human said rather than truly set on hunting a dragon." Bergelmir explained. One of the words caught his attention though.

"Extinct? You know of dragons? What stories my kin have tell of the beasts being nigh immovable once they have feasted. Less the area is barren, they do not leave. I doubt a dragon so easily scared away." Bergelmir said with a tone that carried question rather than annoyance. The runes dimmed further, the color almost completely faded as he spoke.

 

[Rainie]

Rainie huffed in offense when her questions went unanswered. She should have expected this, honestly. She did crane her head to look up at the male giant and told him quite firmly, "Curious I may be, I'm deadly serious about hunting it."

She was soon distracted by a new arrival. A slim man with black hair suddenly exited the underbrush nearby. A lurch in her gut told her he was no ordinary hunter. Not like Weylin. As the man spoke to the male giant, Rainie backed away slowly and went to join the more familiar men. As she did, she overheard Weylin telling the giantess of his intention to hunt.

She rejoined Faurosk briefly and dropped her knapsack near the center of the giants' camp. "I'll be back," she told the mage in an undertone. More loudly she added, "Try not to miss me too much, husband!" And grasped the front of his robes to give him a smirking kiss on the cheek. Grinning mischievously, she darted away quickly and jogged across the camp to catch up to the hunter.

"Weylin!" She called, and slowed down beside him. Breath fogging the cold air, she hitched her quiver higher on her shoulder. "Why are you going to hunt? Are we not leaving soon?" As she spoke, she pulled her bow over her head and fingered the string. She'd waxed it only the night before, and it was still perfect.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Faurosk]

Faurosk eyed the gaunt man as he approached the party, suddenly placing a face to the strange iron-scented tickle he'd felt at the back of his head since arriving at the giants' campgrounds. He gripped his staff just a little bit tighter, thankful that his gloves were hiding just how white his knuckles got in the moment. His gaze turned to Rainie as she made an approach to him, and he gave her a quick nod at her departure. The brief smooch, however, caught him fully of guard and left him a bright red mess for a good few seconds.

By the time he steeled himself enough to speak anything even half witty in response, she had already gone down the road with the peculiarly unfunny hunter. And so the mage was left, staring at where his travelling companion once stood.

"Well, fine," he thought, "may as well make the best of this, then." The wizard and his small dog took a trot over to where the giantess sat by the fire, taking a seat on a stone a good couple of feet away from her. He'd noticed her disdain for just how much the other humans talked, and decided to explain away Rainie's faults while also maintaining a curt tone similar to Ragna herself.

"She likes to embarrass people." His voice rose up from the comparably diminutive form near the giantess, and he cast his glance to the fire rather than up, up, up at her. "And I like to make her think it works." Without any further interjections, he reclined just slightly and produced a book from his hip, thumbing through to a spell called 'Earthbind' before settling into reading the entry.

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

It would seem that Ragna wasn't sure they even needed the extra good, but with Vigil arriving out of nowhere it was clear to Weylin it would be needed. Even if the giants ended up crushing the new arrival it would still be needed. Best to start a hunt off with a hardy meal after all since you never knew how long it might last.

He made a whistle. White's ears shot up and the big dog was ready to begin. Weylin began to head off towards the river so ended up missing what happened in the camp with the new person. As he was walking along though it seemed Rainie had joined him. He looked over at her as she asked her questions. Not bad ones to be asking if you asked him. It was certainly good information to know. She deserved an answer too.

"We should have one good meal before we begin the hunt. It will be long and dangerous. May not have another chance for weeks." Weylin responded as his footsteps just seemed to make as much noise as owl feathers in the dark. "You should have stayed and rested. Are you not curious about giants as well? Faurosk is also staying with the pup. You seem to love that pup."

Weylin turned his attention back to where they were going. His eyes hunted for any sign of a deer. They would require less preparation than a boar even if a boar would provide more meat. Likely be less tough and gamey as well. The people in town seemed to not enjoy the taste of wild game as much. He could understand not wanting tough meat. It did feel strange to him that she had decided to join him. She seemed like more of the type to enjoy the camp and pleasant company to him. And he was aware that he was not the best of company.

After a bit of time Weylin said, "Why do you want to hunt a dragon? Your clothing suggests you are at the top of society." A merchant or tavern owner by his wild Spine standards. "Wouldn't it make you look bad to be around someone like me too? Towns folk don't view hunters like me without a home well even in the Spine. It is dangerous out here and you could also get hurt or killed. I'd rather neither happens." He was chattier than usual right now. Probably because of how long it had been since he could talk to another human so casually.

Bergelmir

 

[Rainie]

Rainie trailed after the hunter, bow knocking against her knee. "Well, if you feel it's needed. We already broke fast this morning, and it hasn't been too long... but yes. Let's go," she said with a nod. It went without saying that she'd come with him. She did nearly all the hunting whilst on the road. Faurosk was good at keeping them warm, Rainie was a good shot with a bow. When she wasn't such a good shot, they bought supper.

She stretched her bow arm across her chest, pulling the muscles and warming them up. "And Faurosk and I just spent the last few days resting. I even had a bath," she chuckled. "And Nota will be there when I get back," she said with a happy grin. She did like that pup.

After a while of walking in silence, Rainie simply following after Weylin and having no idea where they were going, he spoke up again.

She laughed. "I think you'll find I keep whatever company I like," she said in response to how townsfolk viewed hunters. "I'm not wealthy, you know. I live out of my knapsack. I have no homestead, no family, though it is true that I sell things quite a bit..." She trailed off for a moment with a smirk, wondering if she should also expose the nature of her relationship with Faurosk.

"And as for hunting a dragon, who wouldn't want the chance?! Well, maybe that's a bad generalization. Let's just say I'm a bit of an adventure-seeker, I suppose," she finished with a wry smile. For a long moment she stared up at the peaks of yonder mountains, marveling at their vastness and unknown multitudes. "I've never been very deep in the mountains. I mainly stick to trails, hopping from city to city."

She pulled her quiver towards her and counted her arrows idly. She'd have to salvage as many as she could whilst she was out on this mad quest. Her quiver was fully stocked, but who knew how many she'd need to bring down a dragon.

"So," she said suddenly, "for these deer. Once we find them, we should split up. I'll wound one or two them and drive them towards you if I can't bring one down. That way, you can pick off any wounded and we don't have to bother chasing them down." She clamped her mouth shut and she realized she was speaking to a very experienced hunter, not a fellow city slicker. "If... that sounds agreeable."

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Vigil]

The giant's tattoos seemed to return to a matte finish upon his flesh and slowly fade after speaking. While at first it was directed at the group in general, the second set of words escaping his lips, were moreso directed at me. Asking of "Extinct" almost as though I knew of the blight of Dragons. I kept the secrets to myself as they were not needed. I had no desire to expose everything I knew. Some would be fine.

"Territorial they may be, but staying in one place for too long leads to undesirables finding you. Dragons are older than most civilizations, and make little to no contact. Extinct due to lack of influence may be possible."

However, after speaking, I did notice that two of the people who just showed up, were already leaving. As it was clearly shown from the drawing of bows to their hands, and the side conversation of requiring a meal, I shook my head. They could seek a meal should they desire it. I hungered not, nor needed the sustenance today. However, it would have been nice to taste some of the Iron-y liquid that flowed within us all.

"I lack an introduction. Apologies. Name's Vigil."

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

As Rainie spoke it seemed to Weylin that she was in much the same circumstances as himself. Unlike him however she seemed to have more useful skills than just hunting to fall back on. The mention of selling things got him curious for a moment, but it quickly passed. She must have been talking about foraging while on the road. Merchants and tavern owners were always on the lookout for things in season. Her reasons for hunting the dragon though seemed odd to him. Not odder than his reasoning, but still odd. Perhaps it was because of how cautious people in the Spine tended to be with so many dangers lurking unseen in the wilds. He was glad to have her along though even if she seemed to be looking for her death.

As Rainie asked her question and laid out the plan, Weylin smiled a bit. It was good to see she knew some hunting strategies in a group like this. He was about to respond though when he caught a scent. He stopped and looked around. A bit of deer scat and a few stranded of fur stuck to a limb. He moved over and examined it a bit. Fresh. Good. He got low and began to look all over the underbrush until he found some tracks. They were moving south away from the river. Out of habit he made a motion with his hand for her to follow him. She might recognize it as one often used by the Allirian guard.

As Weylin began to follow the tracks, he said in a hushed voice, "White will run them down if the shot does not kill." He pulled out one of his arrows from his quiver and held the point up so she could see it. It was broad and sharp. Whatever it hit would have a large wound in it and begin to bleed a lot. "Do you have arrows like this?"

 

[Rainie]

The bard followed the hunter on tip toe, wondering idly if he had spent time in the Allirian Reach. She was happy to let the more experienced hunter take the lead. It would save her the frustration of letting game get away.

Rainie examined the arrow tip Weylin showed her. She thought of her own arrows, which were shouldered, but not exactly as broad. Her favourite were actually swallowtail arrow heads, but that didn’t help so much against game, and the merchants didn’t have them in Glacen.

Biting her lip, she waggled her hand in a so-so gesture. At least she wasn’t shooting bodkin heads. Although, maybe she should be. Dragon scales were a kind of armor, weren’t they? Astra, help her.

She pulled out her own arrow wordlessly and flipped it around agilely in her fingers to show Weylin the shouldered head. Shrugging, she nocked the arrow loosely, holding her bow ready but not drawing it. Over his shoulder, her eye caught a flash of movement. She squinted, lips parting in concentration as she stilled completely.

Was it a leaf? Was it nothing? She stared, and saw it again, and a pair of black eyes flashed through the branches. It hadn't spotted them.

Rainie jerked her chin silently at Weylin, motioning toward the deer ahead of them. She dropped low and tip toed into better cover, bow held ready, looking for a good shot.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The arrow that Rainie pulled out to show Weylin was decent but not as good for hunting as his own. It seemed better designed for other purposes than the bleeding that he wanted for hunting down a deer or boar. He thought about sharing some of his with her, even though arrows were highly valuable out in the Spine, but the chance soon was gone. A sudden bit of movement caught everyone's attention.

While Rainie needed a brief second to spot the deer and then get her arrow readied. Weylin was already drawing his arrow back. By the time she got done moving to her new position, an arrow went soaring through the air silently. It had been fletched in owl feathers. It struck the deer's neck and cut into the major artery. The action startled the animal and a high pitched whistle sent it and White running.

A small herd was spooked by the sudden arrow shot and deer began to flee in multiple directions not knowing where the threat was from exactly only that a big white beast was chasing the injured one down. As they fled, Weylin stood up and began to scream at them like a wild man. He didn't want to be stomped or impaled to death. This action caused many of them to freak out and run away from him, but one buck was so confused he just continued to charge at the young man.

Weylin had this situation happen to him before, and it wasn't enjoyable. He dove off to the side, but that just seemed to upset the creature as it turned around to start trying the cut him up with its hooves. Weylin curled up and tried to protect his vital areas as best he could. White hopefully would just keep going after the injured deer and he could figure out something for this buck mauling him. He would have to figure out something soon though. He had completely forgotten abut Rainie being there as well.

 

[Rainie]

Rainie watched with delight as Weylin's arrow hit his mark, and a streak that was White went streaming towards the fleeing deer. What a flawless technique. It was amazing teamwork, really.

As the herd scattered, she was quite pleased with her position behind the tree, and Weylin tried to frighten the charging deer away. Her eyes were on a massive five point buck, which didn't seem to be changing his path despite Weylin's mad screaming. Backing away, Rainie watched the animal attack the hunter, who was trying desperately to avoid it.

She had loosed an arrow before she even knew what she was doing. Then, she released two more in quick succession. The buck gave a choked cry, two arrows protruding from its throat. The third was embedded grotesquely in its eye socket. It slumped to the ground and began to stain the snow red.

The bard stood there blinking for a second, then pushed a stray lock of red hair back into her hood. She jogged over to the prone hunter and extended him a hand up. "You alright, darling?" Rainie asked, a smile in her voice, managing barely to keep a straight face.

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

Strike after strike of hooves and antlers struck Weylin's limbs and torso. The wool and leather of his clothing was working to cushion it, but he knew he was going to bruised up in a few places. His mind raced over his options and all that he could think of was to find a way to get his knife or hatchet drawn and then go for the buck's neck. It was honestly one of the best ways to deal with this kind of thing no matter what sort of creature was attacking you. Hunters had survived everything from bears to mountain cats to trolls using the tactic. It should work for him now.

Before he could do anything though, a couple of thuds sounded above him followed by pained bellowing from the buck. The scent of hot metallic reached his nose. He looked up from his arms to see some blood dripped in onto him and the ground from arrow wounds in the creature. It was in shock and tried to flee but didn't get far before dropping. The last heavy breaths were leaving it in wheezes as its life came to a slow, confused end.

Weylin had been saved by Rainie it seemed. Her voice and hand were before him. He accepted her help and got to his feet. A quick check of his body found no open wounds. All he had was some tears in his cloth and cuts in his leather. Any blood on him was only from the buck. He nodded as he said, "Yes. Thank you."

Weylin looked down at the buck as it clung to life still. He knelt down beside it as he drew his skinning knife. Whispered words were spoken into its ear. "Thank you for your sacrifice. Find peace in death for your life had purpose." She might have been able to check them if she paid attention. He then ended the deer's suffering with a quick, skilled thrust into it's neck.

 

[Rainie]

Rainie looked Weylin over, checking him for any injuries. He looked alright, only his clothes were a little torn up. She let her breath out sharply in relief and smiled. She stayed for a moment to listen to the hunter's prayer for the deer, tilting her head curiously.

The bard replaced her bow and pulled a length of rope out of her pack. "I'll go find White, yeah? Sit tight," she told Weylin, then jogged off through the snow.

Following White's tracks proved easy enough, and she noticed lengths dragged the snow from the struggle between the two beasts. Not too far away from Weylin, she hopped over a fallen tree and found them. Steam rose from the scene, hot blood melting the snow it touched.

"Good girl," she told White with a smile. She hopped over to the doe, keeping out of range of any flailing limbs. It was very nearly dead, but not quite. Rainie dropped her rope in the snow and pulled a knife out of her boot. She paused, poised with the blade hovering over the poor thing's jugular.

"Erm," she mumbled. "Thank you for your sacrifice, I suppose." Feeling odd, she swiftly went about her task. After a minute, she had the deer hog tied with the rope looped around her shoulder. She had strong arms, but she couldn't exactly carry an entire dead deer herself.

"Alley-oop!" She grunted, then began to drag the dead doe down the blessedly declining slope back towards Weylin.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

Weylin knew how lucky he was with that buck attack. People in town often saw deer as nothing more than skittish creatures that only knew how to flee. Experienced hunters however knew they could be deadly. Their hooves are sharp, which the tears and cuts in his attire could prove, and bucks that still had their antlers could leave a hole in you. Many a hunter had died to a buck in their rutting season. Thankfully he had avoided that due to his thick winter clothing.

Rainie was given a nod when she mentioned she was heading off. It was fine if she left. Weylin had to prep the kill anyways. He pulled out some rope and tied it around the buck's rear ankles then got it hung up from a tree branch upside down so it wasn't touching the ground. He had slit it's throat earlier in a way so that when he did this all the blood would drain out onto the ground. He needed to let it finish doing that so he looked for a rock and sat down to wait.

White had chased down the doe from before and bite at her legs to cause more bleeding. She knew what her job was and so ignored the yelling that had gone on behind her by her human. He liked to scatter the prey. The deer was keeping just ahead of her for awhile, but the lose of blood was too much for her. The doe fell down and couldn't get up after making it over a fallen tree. White stood and waited patiently knowing the chase was done. Her job now was to make sure no scavenger, such as a wolverine or bear, tried to steal her kill.

The sound of footsteps would normally have gotten White on guard, but she knew these. It was the female that her human had let come with them. She wasn't useful like her human was though. She was told she was a good girl, because she obviously was, and then the female began to tie up the prey. It was something her human did too, but the female confused White. Instead of hanging the prey from a tree to bleed this female was now dragging the prey somewhere. Strange, but it didn't change her job. She got up and followed along while keeping an eye out for would be thieves.

 

[Rainie]

Panting puffs of white steam into the chilled air, Rainie dragged the deer carcass through the snow. It wasn't too bad; the route declined slightly and the snow made the dragging easier. It didn't make it any less exhausting, though. White followed alongside, looking vaguely judgmental for a dog.

Once she reached Weylin, or somewhere vaguely close to him, she dropped her burden and rolled her shoulder. She smiled at Weylin, who was busy over her kill, and told him matter-of-factly, "Divide and conquer doesn't really work when there's bears."

With a resigned sigh, she pulled out a knife and flipped it around in her fingers. Clumsily, she got to work. She wasn't the best at this, but she could do enough to survive at least. So what if it wasn't pretty? You were just going to cook it and eat it.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The buck was nearly done draining by the time Weylin heard Rainie huffing her way back to him with the doe. He stood up and went over to her as she stopped dragging the deer. The task would be exhausting given how much deer could weigh. He gave her a slight smile in response to her words. White sat there looking both very proud of herself but also not very happy about Rainie being there. Odd.

Weylin untied and then retied the doe up like he had done with the buck. He hung her up in a tree the same way and let Rainie go about clumsily repeating what he had done. It was passable but no where near as refined as her skill with a bow. She was certainly giving off that tavern owner feeling to him right now.

After watching her for a bit, Weylin finally went over to the buck and got to work gutting it. He saved the best organs in an old sack he had kept looped around his belt in case he needed it. The heart, liver, and kidneys all went in. He then went over and helped Rainie out with doing the same to the doe. The speed and effectiveness of the tasks were testaments to how much experience he had with it.

Once the deer were finally prepped, Weylin got the both of them tied up to a thick branch he found and onto his shoulders. He stood up feeling the weight and got his balance. Once that was done he looked over at Rainie and said, "Ready?"

White just stuck around near Rainie the whole time and watched her every action. The female was not as good as her human was at doing the strange things to the prey. Her human even had to help the female. Why her human gave the female attention and didn't give it to her was baffling. She had done her part flawlessly and deserved the rewards!

Weylin was careful on his way back to the camp. He was carrying more weight than he should be, but he wanted to make sure Rainie didn't have to carry some of the burden. Especially not after she had killed the buck while it was attacking him. He stayed silent as they walked for awhile but eventually began to hum a bit of a tune. It was a joyful folk song that bounced up and down like the waters of a creek over large stones. It seemed to bubble like water out of a spring. It just seemed happy about everything but nothing in particular.

 

[Rainie]

If Rainie were being honest, she'd say she was grateful for Weylin's help. Prepping prey was a chore that she wasn't too fond of. She helped as much as she could, and felt a little bit like she was being patronized, but it was still a relief when it was done so quickly.

She watched fretfully when Weylin heaved the burden of two deer on his shoulders. Biting her lip, she followed close alongside him, ready to snatch her hand out if something slipped or became too heavy for the young hunter. Again, she couldn't deny her secret relief. Her shoulder was already sore from all the dragging earlier.

Rainie smiled as they neared camp and Weylin began to hum a little tune, which she joined in for a few lines. She noticed White following her closely, and snuck a quick ear scratch to the dog's floppy white ears.

The giants were obviously the first thing to come into view. She raised her hand high in the air and waved, hoping to get someone's attention who could relieve poor Weylin of his burden.

"Phew," she sighed. "Thanks for taking most of the load. You didn't have to." She frowned at Weylin consideringly and offered, "Later I can mend your clothes, if you like. I'm quite good at sewing. My parents were actually clothing merchants." She smirked.

Weylin Kyrel Ragna Bergelmir Faurosk Vigil

 

[Bergelmir]

Bergelmir waved back after he noticed the small figure waving toward the camp. They had returned from hunting it seemed. His head turned a little as the earth gave a low rumble at his standing. It shuddered with each of his monstrous strides as he came close to the two hunters.

"A splendid catch. I shall relieve you of the game." The giant offered, his hand coming near to Weylin before stopping short of the prize. He motioned toward the ground, the runes a very dull blue glow. "If you would, place them on the earth. I would be greatly troubled if I harmed you."

 

[Ragna]

Bergelmir noticed the figures returning to camp first. Ragna rose with him, grumbling a little at the wait. They had a fine fire going by now with a pile of branches and deadwood stacked nearby to toss on. There were some bloodied carcasses near by from their own kills as well as some other foods they'd managed to forage. She was amazed by how much more fertile the lowlands were. They seemed to teem with life compared to higher up.

"At last" she muttered. Neither of the two humans seemed crippled or broken, they'd gone for manageable game. The new talkative one was still with Weylin as was the dog that never seemed to leave his side.

 

[Faurosk]

The mage looked up from where he'd been reading, shaken out of his study by the shaking of giant footsteps heading away from camp. He carefully closed his spellbook, rising to his feet and once more clipping it flush to his belt. Giving the loyal book a pair of quick pats on the spine and a muttered promise that he'd get back to reading soon, Faurosk followed after Ragna and Bergelmir to watch the two hunters return with their game.

He stood about ten feet from the giants' flank, nodding in silent approval and giving the two approaching party members a small smile. Being raised in a city, most of his encounters with deer and their ilk had been after they'd been butchered into less recognizable bits of meat or stewed into a brown mush that had little resemblance to the beautiful, dead creatures that were being dragged into camp. Some part of him felt a slight twinge of remorse at the prospect of cooking up an entity that had been alive mere minutes prior, but he knew full well that he and his had to eat.

"Nicely done," he finally muttered as Weylin and Rainie neared the camp, turning away and returning to his previous stone perch with full confidence that the frost giant would be more help in transporting the carcasses than he could be.

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The walk to camp was pleasant enough. The burden of carrying more than Weylin was honestly comfortable with aside there wasn't a thing he would have changed. As they got close, Rainie ran of ahead of him to get their attention. Seemed she was more conscious of how much weight was on his shoulders than he thought. They were missing their insides and blood so a good chunk of their mass was gone but they still weighed a couple hundred at least.

The male giant Bergelmir approached and offered to take the deer if Weylin set them down first. He nodded and did just that. Ragna made a comment which got him to look at her for a second but no real remark. As he put some room between him and the deer for Bergelmir to take them, he said, "I will cook our portion. Not everyone is fine with near enough to raw and bone filled as certain others." He glanced over at the red headed giantess for a brief second as he said that. She knew who he meant.

Turning his head back to Rainie, Weylin said, "Thank you for helping." His face had a look of "I knew it" on it when she mentioned her parents were merchants. It explained everything. She was at the top of society after all. As Faurosk approached he turned and gave the man a nod in greeting and thanks. White went off with the deer in hopes of begging some immediate scraps as Weylin looked to his fellow humans.

"Any preferences with your meat?"