ToA: Session 27

A Looming Threat or Three
Confronted by a group of Frost Giants, Fargus cuts the leader down at the knees, or ankle maybe, by pointing out the obvious. If any of them were Artus Cimber, did he really think they would be stupid enough to just waltz right into a camp of Frost Giants? Embarrassed by the smartass dwarf, Hruknar presses to check everyone for rings, finding nothing of note on Neb or Kinlek, or either of the proudly raised middle fingers of Fargus. But while he takes the time to inspect the many somehow still brilliant rings of Daedalus, the Squad notices an unconscious half-elf bound, gagged, and beaten off to the side of the camp.

Satisfied with finding that there is nothing of note about the rings on Daedalous, the giants invite the Squad to join them for camp. Noticing the colorful silks, similar to the ones worn by the merchant princes, Neb offers to talk to the half-elf and see if he can get any valuable information out of him. The Giants are wary of him, but agree in the end. With Kinlek using some powerful magic to heal the half-elf enough to be conscious again, they gain the Giants' attention and suspicions freshly renewed.

Neb attempts to speak covertly with the half-elf in elvish, finding little information of value. Only that the Giants grabbed him, beat him silly, and then tied him up. That and his name is Sisay and he desperately wants his items returned to him. They also learn through a frankly horrendous discussion about eating elves, that Sisay can understand giant and common as well. And that he has a hell of a mouth on him when he is upset.

As the interrogation continues, the Giants decide to stand even closer, uncomfortably so. While Neb tries to maintain the discussion, figuring out the best way to trick the Giants and get Sisay to safety, Fargus distracts them further with offering to have drinks.

As they sit to drink and go over the lie that Neb and Sisay have cooked up to send the Frost Giants far off the their trail, things go south quick. As the giants reveal their elvish is not so rusty as to have missed what was being said.

Ah fuck. Well, the idea was good in theory at least.

Diffusing with Drinks and Dealing with Danger
Stepping in with a moment of political and business acumen, Daedalus tries to broker a deal with the giants and clear up the situation. And like any good business dealings, this is done over more drinks! The groups split some casks of giant's ale; with Neb chugging the whole thing in one go, Daedalus holding his own, Kinlek adding his own special herbs to it since giant's ale apparently doesn't pack enough of a punch for him, and Fargus being a surprising light weight and passing out mid-drink.

The team manages to get the Giants to agree to give them over Sisay, leveraging the false belief the giants have that they can all turn into animals like Sisay , whom they realize is in fact Ekku's familiar, and new information about Dragonbait and Artus Cimber. But unfortunately they are not convincing enough to get Sisay's things as well, and so they take their leave right away, planning the soon-to-come caper.

A Sit-down with a Spider or Seventy
As the Squad and Sisay walk back into the jungle, they notice that the nature around them blooms and bows to Cesei himself. Animals flock to him with affection, and Kinlek uses the opportunity to talk with the monkeys about nearby dangers. They tell him about the five-legged panther at the Great Marsh, but not much else. In a temporary camp, Kinlek and Sisay talk about what he is doing there, and what courts he serves when the perpetually buzzed Tortle notices a spider right behind Fargus. Of course, this can't be your average, every day, horribly poisonous jungle spider. Oh no, this thing is oily, black and purple, the size of a football, and like every other damn animal the team meets-- capable of speech! Of course.

The spider bows to Sisay and introduces himself as Mictlautcutlc, and he has not come alone. He and his followers have come to see the stayed in the cave of truths and the god-slayer. At this, the entire surface of the trees and ground come to life with spiders, who come closer to Fargus, to bestow many wrapped dead things as gifts to him. After accepting the gifts like one might begrudgingly accept a dead animal from a pet cat, Fargus is asked if he can give his name to Mictlautcutlc. Just as the dwarf was about to make one of the classic fairy tale blunders, Sisay steps in and corrects the spider god. He may hear the name, but he may not have it. The spider, not overly bothered by this, accepts still.

Sisay invites the spider to join them, and he takes the form of a man with pitch-black skin dressed in purple silks, and sits with us in the camp. With things settled down the party discusses the plan for retrieving Sisay's things, which he informs them is in fact a gift to the group that Ekku sent him out to deliver to them. The written account of the prophecy!

'''Will the Squad get Sisay 's things back? Will they continue to avoid a fight with three giants? What will they find in the full prophecy? And how many spiders will they accidentally eat during their next rest now that they know the entire gods damn jungle is made of the things? Find out next time on Desolation Squad: Operation Lost Luggage!'''