Upon arriving at The Tree Fortress, Ezrin is rather wide-eyed, but takes it in stride and unrolls his bedroll in a spot on the second floor.
After things settle down and a bit and the Aegirian ranger and… apprentice are busy, Ezrin approaches Alexis.
“I have so many questions Colleague… perhaps though, I should start here… what is this place?”
The Sutheroni mage gestures expansively at the massive trees around them.
In camp, well after leaving the area of the chaos magic storms, and after his conversations with Gus and Alexis, Telosh approaches Ethelred while the others are busy elsewhere.
“The ballista is coming along well eh, Red? Looks wicked!”
He looks truly excited about the project, his Westlander accent is showing..
“Do ya think it’ll take the giant out in one shot or should we prepper some follow up measures? More traps maybe?”
“I’ve been tryna figure out how to.. embiggen the deadfall traps that the Gus uses to catch small animals like squirrels, maybe have it set up for a tree or two to fall on the giant?”
“Digging a deep pit might be tough, but a shallow pit with spikes in it could trip the giant up pretty bad… Based on it’s behavior before, I bet it will want to charge at the ballista if it survives the hit…”
“Oh, I should let you talk… I’m getting excited about taking on the giant!”
In a moment with Gustav:
“If you had to take down a really big animal, like an elk or a bear, say to feed a big hungry group right as fast as possible, and your bow was broken, and you didn’t have any bow-making tools, how would you do it Gus? What kind of traps would you use?”
In a moment with Alexis, when Ethelred is busy elsewhere.
“Alexis, we need more than just the ballista. We were successful with both the dragon and The… Pit because we worked together and because we used more than one…tool.
“we need need to do more that just one thing. Immobilizing it, or at least slowing it down would be good. Spike traps, deadfall, and giant-sized snares too, I bet there are other things we could to do too that I’m not thinking of, but
I’m getting ahead of us though, what do we already know about the giant?
It ignores us if we play dead? At least as long as there are other things for it to worry about. It stinks. It has three arms. It has a lair. What else do we need to know? It’s movement pattern? Where along it’s path is best to set our ambush?
“Alexis, what do you know about sleeping gods? I overheard mention at the Five Winds that TyLin is sleeping? The Hungry Voice said She had abandoned me… She’s certainly more distant than… Others, but…”
In camp, some days after leaving the valley of chaos and cold.
“I’ve a thought… what if we don’t have to kill the giant to get the sword? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for killing the giant, but it seems like there is a lot of other things going on, and the longer this takes, the more… strange things get. Maybe we should try to deal with the swords first.
“The giant is our goal because of the Twice Broken Sword, be believe it is in the fort, right?
He looks at all his companions.
“Raff is… concerned about the Twice Broken Sword, but the Chaos Blade is not, correct?
He looks at Alexis.
“We know Earycka has more access to the inner workings of the fort that we do…”
He looks around at every one and pauses to see see if at least Alexis and Red are following his line of thinking…
“We are deal-makers after all…”
Telosh approaches Alexis when Gustav is busy elsewhere.
“Alexis, I have been wondering about the crow… The Crows really. And… Malor.”
“Do you think the crow that keeps following us is connect to Malor in some way? Crows generally?”
Telosh helps Gustav forage, trap and hunt, and spends a bit of time talking with him about trap craft. He aids Ethelred with the ballista, tumbles and spars with all of his companions. He is clumsy with his off hand, and while is eyes are little empty, his feints are not less convincing.
He feeds the crow whenever it comes around camp, but doesn’t talk to it in front of Gus, or at least when he knows Gus is nearby.
One afternoon, when Telosh thinks he is alone with the crow, he tosses it a morsel, closer than when they are near the others. As it eats, Telosh speaks slowly,
“You only ever tried to help and protect me.
“Gus says your feathers were protected by an agent of M- the Corrupter of Animals, and he thinks you are an agent of Theirs…
“I’ve never understood why he didn’t like you…
“If you are in the beast lords thrall, I hope I can free you, crow friend.”
More than just a few steps after the walking conversation about Ath, Telosh slides up next to Alexis again.
“Hunger. When I connected with the Dark Third, I felt a deep, bottomless hunger. That could be Undeath, it could be Crows, and it could be the ArruNoroth. The undead hunger for the living. Crows are always hungry for food. Dragons are always hungry for gold and power.”
Telosh pauses.
“What is Ath hungry for? I am hungry for recognition, praise… trust.”
Telosh grows very quite, even his steps are softer.
In a moment in the tent, Telosh approaches Ethelred.
Hey ’Red, can I talk to you for a minute? The other day you said something about how I’ve been lying about following TyLin. I know I’m deceitful, but I’ve never lied about that.”
Telosh is clearly upset, but trying to hold it back.
“Yes, I turned away from TyLin and didn’t say anything about it, I let that be part of Inkam, not Lucius, but I have never falsely revered Her.
Bitterness and anger are apparent on the Westlander’s face.
“I would have sensibly cowered with you and the others when we faced Yogg if I had not received the stone beforehand. I would still have Thraan’s rapier, and the bow I took from The Made.”
He takes a long look at the Aegrian, and shakes his head ever so slightly.
“I may use trickery and guile when needed, but I don’t lie to my companions.”