The Mountain Guide

After a few more days of camping, the group finally found a sign leading them towards Hynesgar. After another quick ride through some woods, the group come out on the other side and are met with the visual of a huge mountain range to their right. Whoever gave it the name 'Skygrabber' was absolutely telling the truth as the tops of the mountains looks like open palms with outstretched fingers trying to rip the clouds from the sky.

"Damn. I guess they meant that Skygrabber shit literally, huh?" Amilia comments.

"It is quite a sight to behold. To think that mountains can even reach that high in the first place is quite astounding." Terra says, obviously enamoured by the sights.

"How in the hells are we supposed to climb up that? I don't think Lani could fly us up there." Virra asks.

"Maybe there's a lift?" John suggests, really hoping that they don't have to scale up the behemoth of a mountain range.

"We'll find out soon enough, according to that sign, Hynesgar is coming up soon." Kyuala says as she points to a sign. The group look to said sign which reads, 'HYNESGAR - 15 MILES AHEAD.'

"Thank fuck. This cart has been killing my ass something serious today. Pointy two, you gotta get some cushions or something back here." Amilia responds as she leans forward, trying to alleviate the literal pain in her ass.

"I had cushions once, but they get stolen so easily. Most autocart users have passive wards around their carts, so no one but them and whoever they wish can get on. Unfortunately for me, magic isn't exactly my strong suit, so wards are out of the question."

"Can't Lani or Terra create a ward?" John asks.

"Doesn't work like that." Virra answers before continuing. "The owner is the only one who can put spells like that onto the cart as the cart is literally powered with their magic, so the cart uses that magic to create the passive wards. Luckily for me, it doesn't take much to actually power it up to begin with, but I can't put enough magic in to be able to create any wards. Hells, I'm pretty sure Lani or Terra wouldn't even notice they powered a cart and created a ward if they owned one."

"What about a passive ward while we're riding?" Kyuala suggests.

Terra is quick to answer Kyuala's question. "That would be tougher than you would expect. We would have to attach the ward to the cart, and attaching a ward to an object is harder than a person, especially if that object is moving. If the person has magic within them, even if it's a small amount, it almost acts like a conductor to allow the ward to be created. However, since the cart isn't magic in nature, we would have to put magic throughout the entire body as it were, and then use that magic to then create a ward. That on its own is quite draining, but factor in defending against attacks, and the average mage would be drained within minutes depending on how devastating the attacks are."

John then asks, "Can't you just combine your magic? We've done it with regular wards before."

"That's because those wards are pure wards, meaning that they're created by the mage to stand by themselves. Wards created around objects and infused to people are known impure wards. Basically, if the ward is created with an attachment to something, it weakens the ward. Now, the ward strength around people is based on how strong the protected persons magic is, but objects are a whole other annoyance. If two people attempt to put magic into an object, the magic simply cancels out unless one of the mages imbues even more magic, cancelling out the other." Lani answers, even using a little bit of magic to give the others a small visual example of the last part as the magic from her left hand overtakes the magic from her right.

After a few moments of taking in the explanation, Amilia simply says, "All this magic blabber is giving me a headache. Wake me up when we get to Hynesgar." The cat then lies down, using her bag as a pillow.

The others in the back of the cart then look out at the vast scenery that precedes the mountain range once again. They all go silent as they just enjoy the sight, appreciating the quiet moments they have before the impending storm.

AN HOUR LATER:

The cart begins climbing up a hill, passing by a sign that reads 'HYNESGAR AHEAD' and the group almost breathe a sigh of relief as they'll be able to disembark soon enough.

As the cart climbs the hill, the group go all lay their collective eyes on the town of Hynesgar.

The town is actually quite smaller compared to what the group had imagined. As Hynesgar is the closest settlement to the mountains, the group expected the town to be bigger than Reduna'z Gaze, but it's quite the opposite.

Another thing that the group notices it that the houses seem to be dark and lifeless. There's people inside, watching as the group move through the streets, but they all seem to be hiding like the stingy houses on Halloween.

"Anyone else creeped the fuck out by this place?" Amilia asks.

"They seem to be scared of something." Terra responds.

Lani then comments, "Maybe they're scared of us?"

"No. This is something a lot bigger than us, and I'm willing to bet it has something to do with those giants up in the mountains." Kyuala adds as she scans the people peeking out from their windows.

"Well, if that's the case, let's get to Braxxas and see if we can help them." John says as that anime protagonist instinct within him kicks in.

"I love it when he gets all heroic." Kyuala thinks to herself, feeling proud of her claimed husband while a small tingle runs down her spine.

The group continue through Hynesgar, feeling the eyes of almost every inhabitant of the town on them as they keep moving.

Eventually, the group pass by the houses and see what appears to be a guard house of sorts.

"Let's stop here and see if anyone's home." Kyuala says to Virra who follows her orders.

The cart then finally comes to a halt, and the group get off one by one. Terra and John are the first two to jump down, then followed by Amilia who immediately grabs her behind and says, "Oww... I hate that fucking cart."

Just then, Lani flies over and sparks up her magic, using a healing spell on Amilia. Amilia immediately grabs her butt once again, this time feeling no pain. Amilia then looks at Lani. "You could've done that this whole damn time?"

"Yep!" Lani answers with a cheeky smile on her face.

Amilia's face then sprouts an annoyed expression for a few mere moments before her head tilts forward and her eyes narrow, focusing on Lani. Lani sees this, and immediately recognizes it as Amilia's hunting mode.

"Y'know wings, I could really use a snack right about now, and you look like the perfect bite-sized treat." Amilia says in a low, creepy and calm voice.

Amilia then takes a step forward, and Lani quickly flies away, trying to escape her potential fate. Amilia soon chases after her, and Lani frantically flies over to Kyuala, hiding behind the green behemoth.

Amilia makes her way over to Kyuala, ready to swipe at Lani, but Amilia is stopped in her tracks by Kyuala's large hand on the front of her head. "That's enough. Let's focus for now. You can mess with each other later."

"Fine." Amilia resigns, but growls at Lani, startling the fairy who quickly flies over to John's shoulder as Amilia chuckles.

As the group are walking to the guard house, they see a second smaller building a little bit away, but don't think much of it. They then head forward, walking toward the door of the guard house before Kyuala knocks on it.

A moment after knocking, the group hear a voice call out from inside. "I'll be just a moment!"

The group then take a step back, waiting for whoever is inside to open the door. They begin to hear footsteps that seem a little slow with every second step sounding a little heavier. The door knob is eventually turned, and the door opens up.

The group look at the now open door and see a relatively older gentlemen. His long hair and bushy beard is slightly greying and at the sides of his eyes are some obvious crows feet. The man is also just under five feet tall, being able to make it with the right pair of boots.

The most notable thing they see about the man however, is the fact that he has a brace on his right arm and one on his right leg. "Ahh, some new faces. You all must be doing something of importance to come all the way to Hynesgar, cause you certainly ain't come here for a vacation!" The man then laughs for a few moments before quietening down. "So, what are you looking for?"

"We're looking for a man named Braxxas. Do you know him?" Terra asks.

"Do I know him? I'd hope so. I happen to be him, after all." The man says before chuckling once again.

The group are stunned as they've finally met the man Holvaeth sent them to meet. Unfortunately for them, he doesn't seem to be in any sort of shape to be travelling across the road, much less up the biggest mountain that any of them have ever seen.

"Ahh, I can tell by your faces that I wasn't exactly what you were expecting. Did whoever recommend me forget to mention my height? I can assure you, that's not stopped me from completing my assignment before."

"Oh, no, no, no. It's nothing to do with your height, I can assure you." Lani says, "It's just..."

"My arm and my leg, I know. Don't worry, I was just pulling your chains." Braxxas says, cutting Lani off. "Anyway, it's getting cold. Come on in and grab a seat, I have some tea brewing."

Braxxas limps back into the house, and the others soon follow with Kyuala closing the door behind them.

The group then all grab a seat as Braxxas starts pouring the tea whilst beginning to speak. "So, I take it you're not here just to visit an old war vet and here some stories?"

"Yeah. We're here to hire a guide." John says.

"Luckily for you, that's exactly what we do here. Okay, so where are you attempting to travel to?" Braxxas asks.

"The Skygrabber Mountains." Terra answers.

Braxxas stops in his tracks, the last of the tea falling from his kettle and into his cup. Braxxas then carefully places the kettle down as he sighs. "Those damned mountains."

Braxxas then takes a seat, obviously perturbed by the mere mention of the mountains. "So, if I may ask... why do you wish to go up there?"

The group look amongst themselves, unsure of if they should tell him the real reason, but Braxxas catches the looks shared between the group. "From the looks of it, I should rephrase my question. So, may I ask who wants you to go up there?"

The group are silent for a few more moments before Virra answers, "Holvaeth Tarron, our father." She then motions between herself and Terra.

"The daughters of Holvaeth Tarron? Now, why would he..." Braxxas' eyes then open wide as he seemingly realizes the reason why the group are currently asking for his help. "Well shit."

The group are confused by Braxxas' reaction, and so Terra asks, "Do you know why we're here?"

Braxxas nods. "I do, child. I'm afraid I know all too well about your family and the... curse."

"How?" Terra then asks.

Braxxas takes a sip of his tea before answering. "Before I set up my business here, I was a mercenary after leaving the army. Your father had hired me for many jobs. The last one was relatively easy, we just had to clear out some goblins from a mine that he had purchased. Once we had finished, I went back to report the success to Holvaeth. We always had a good rapport because of my service to his father during the war, and to him. That night, he confided in me about the Giants Eye."

Braxxas then takes another sip of his tea. "He wasn't sure if it would strike his children, but he wanted to know if I knew how to reach them if need be. I had already told him of my plans to settle down here in Hynesgar, since it is my home, so he asked me if I would train people just in case it were to happen. I gladly obliged, especially since he paid me quite a lot more than I was supposed to get. That day, I made an oath to your father, and from then on, the Guides of Muprosyll have become helpers for travellers from all over. To be quite honest, I never expected to live to see the day it would happen, but fate has an interesting way of making things work."

"And speaking of fate..." Braxxas says as he leans back in his chair. "It seems as if it doesn't quite like you all today."

"Why? Didn't you just say that you trained people to guide travellers?" Virra asks.

"Well, as you can see, I don't exactly have folk chomping at the bit to go." Braxxas chuffs as he motions around the group. "Now, usually you'd find five or six folk here, waiting for a job, but we've been real busy as of late. The folks around here..." Braxxas sighs. "Well, they've been clamouring to leave, so my guides have become guards until they get to another town."

Kyuala then takes the opportunity to ask, "Why are they trying to leave? We saw them all hiding in their homes when we came in."

"That's because of the giants." Braxxas answers. "Usually, they stay up in the mountains, doing whatever giants do. However... they finally decided to venture on down about a month ago. We don't even know why. Some of my men thought they might've needed the food, but none of the yield was taken. They didn't even take any of the grain we have stored for the winter. It was almost like they were just doing it... just for fun."

"Wait... you said they attacked a month ago, correct?" Terra asks, seemingly following a train of thought.

"Yes, it was around a month ago."

Terra's mind begins to race as thought threads start connecting together. The others notice Terra's thinking face, and Amilia asks, "Hey pointy, what you thinkin'?"

"If you remember back when we first arrived at my parents home, my father said that Erya experienced her first symptoms of the curse around three weeks before we showed up."

"So, you think they're connected?" Lani asks.

"I can't say for certain obviously, but it seems too coincidental to be unrelated in my opinion."

"But what would be the reason? It's not like giants destroying a small town dozens of miles away from Mulvenscroll would do anything." Kyuala adds.

"Giants work in mysterious ways." Braxxas says. "They're enigmatic, and not in a good way. I've only seen a few in person before they attacked here, and they weren't exactly friendly then either."

The room goes silent for a bit as everyone seemingly tries to figure out the potential thinking of the giants.

Eventually, Lani is the one to snap out of it before asking, "So, is there any way we can get up to the mountains? It's incredibly imperative that we do."

"I wish I could, I really do, but there's a reason why I have fifty people in my employ and all of them refuse to go up there. To be truthfully honest, I don't blame them for not wanting to go even before the attack. Hells, how'd you think this happened?"

Braxxas then raises his arm, showing off the brace once again, and the group go silent as they realize how Braxxas got their injury. At the same time, the groups hope of getting up the mountain is seemingly gone.

John then replays Myssera's request in his mind, and so he asks, "Well... is there anyone else who could take us up there?"

Braxxas goes quiet for a moment, prompting Lani to say, "Sir, please, with all due respect, it's incredibly imperative that we get up to those mountains."

Braxxas thinks for a moment, trying to think of a solution. An idea then seemingly crosses his mind, but he doesn't seem fond of it. He then sighs as he leans back in his chair, "Well... I think I know of someone who can. However, she is a bit of a... character."

"Dude. You're literally looking at a drop-in with a fairy, an orc, two elf sisters and a cat. I'm pretty sure they'll be tame as fuck compared to us." Amilia comments.

Braxxas chuckles. "If you say so." He says with a knowing tone. Braxxas then stands up and says, "I'll go and see if they're up for the task."

As Braxxas heads to the door, he is quickly joined by Terra who says, "I'll come with you. Just in case this person needs a kick in the arse."

Braxxas laughs once more. "Well then, I hope your foot's big enough."

Terra is confused by Braxxas' reaction, but doesn't say anything as he opens the door, and the duo head out of the guard house.

The two then head around the guard house and walk over to the smaller looking building. Braxxas then opens the door up, and the two walk in.

Inside the building, Terra is greeted with the sight of a few jail cells. She is immediately surprised, but is immediately given an explanation by Braxxas. "We sometimes get a rowdy customer or two. There's also a few of our men who can't hold their drink all two well."

Terra is still stunned as she starts to theorize why Braxxas was hesitant to suggest this person as a guide. The older man then walks to some stairs before lighting a torch. Braxxas then begins a slow descent down the stairs with Terra following behind.

About a minute later, the two get to the bottom of the stairs, and Terra is even more stunned. If upstairs was a sheriff jail, the downstairs was a dungeon.

The floor is completely made from old stone, being a stark contrast from the wooden boards upstairs. The walls are also stone, and are beginning to turn green with moss. The two head forward, and begin to see the bars of cells that are a dull brown with obvious signs of rusting.

Continuing forward, Terra makes sure to stick close to the light as the whole environment around her can be described as unsettling. A few moments later, Braxxas stops just before a cell and says, "Let me speak first. She's not exactly fond of new people... or any people for that matter."

Braxxas then continues forward, stepping just a few feet in front of him, now looking into the cell. "Having fun pretending to be asleep? Or are you going to get up?"

There's no response for a few moments, prompting Braxxas to continue. "You could at least say hello instead of bring an ass biscuit."

Another few moments pass by before Terra is startled by a deep, booming voice that replies back. "Hello. Now, fuck off."

Braxxas chuckles. "I see you're in one of your good moods today. That's great.. because I have something for you."

"Unless it's a fountain of beer, or you open this door, you can shove it up your ass." The voice bluntly replies.

Braxxas looks over at Terra for a moment before looking back. "I know I've had a few interesting partners in my day, but I don't think I could fit a whole elf up there." Braxxas chuckles to himself, hoping for some sort of response, but nothing comes. "Hey, listen. This is a big ask, but I've got a group here who-"

"No."

"I didn't even get to finish." Braxxas says.

"I know what you're going to ask, and the answer is no. Plus, according to you, I'm not allowed to take jobs in the first place." The voice says.

Braxxas promptly replies. "No. I said that you weren't allowed to punch our clients. There's quite a difference in the two."

"He deserved it." The voice adds.

"Regardless of that, you still punched a client, and a rich one at that. If I didn't lock you up, you would've been taken to one of the high courts, and you know what they would do to you."

The voice doesn't respond, instead, they just let out a long, frustrated exhale.

Braxxas lets out a sigh of his own before talking once again. "Now, let me just talk and you listen, okay?" No response. "I'll take that as an okay then. Alright, this job isn't like any of the other ones we've taken before. This job is a promise that I made a long time ago."

"Then why don't you take them?"

"You know fine well why I can't. Now, as I was saying. This group is on a mission from Holvaeth Tarron of Mulvenscroll. The Holvaeth Tarron. He's asked them to head up to the Skygrabber Mountains... to find the giants."

The sound of loud movements can be heard coming from inside the cell. It's only a step or two, but it's enough to warrant concern for Terra about the size of this person.
"I'm not doing it." The voice responds.

"Please, just hear them out."

"NO!" The voice shouts, making Terra recoil, but Braxxas doesn't even flinch. "I'm not going to those damn mountains! End of discussion! Now, fuck off!"

There's another few steps of moment before a loud thud, and Terra assumes the person has sat down.

Braxxas stands there for a few moments before hanging his head and sighing. "So be it." He then walks away from the cell and over to Terra. "I'm sorry. There isn't anything I can do to convince her. She's the damned personification of stubborn."

Braxxas then takes a few steps forward, but before he gets too far, Terra grabs the torch from his hand. She then storms up to the bars of the cell.

As Terra stops at the bars, she stares into the dark abyss ahead of her and begins to speak. "Listen here, you bone-headed, apathetic, weak-willed cock-weasel! My friends and I need to get up to those damn mountains to save a life! My sisters life! And you're the only person who's capable of getting us up there! If we had any other choice, we would have already left to find these damn giants! But we haven't So, how about you get off your damned lazy arse and help us?! Or can you deal with an innocent girl's blood on your hands?!"

Terra doesn't get any sort of response after her little tirade, and it annoys her, but ultimately, Terra did all she could to try and convince the person.

After waiting for a few moments, Terra accepts that she's not going to get a response, so she accepts her loss and goes to leave. However, before Terra can take a single step, she hears the person begin to rise to their feet. The shuffle of a large body is heard mere seconds before the thudding footsteps from before start up again.

The slow, purposeful footsteps begin getting closer, and Terra prepares herself for whatever is about to emerge from the dark that even the torch can't cut through. Braxxas is also worried, but knows that there's nothing he can do to help the situation.

Terra soon seen the outline of a person in the shadows, and immediately realizes that she might've messed up, and in a huge way.

Just then, the figure emerges from the shadows, and Terra sees the person behind the voice for the first time. Her eyes shoot open and her head tilts back to look up at the person's face. Terra is so stunned by the sight of the person, the only word she can muster is, "Woah."

What Terra sees before her can only be described as a hulking beast of a woman. She's definitely taller than Kyuala without a doubt. While Kyuala stands at around seven foot, this faint pink-skinned woman is easily nine or ten feet. The short, dirty blonde hair on top of her head almost brushes against the top of the cell. Her face looks like it was chisled out of stone as her jaw is quite defined, making Terra wonder if she would cut her finger if she were to touch said chin.

A little south from the face, Terra sees her neck is almost as thick as tree trunk with her traps being literally bigger than Lani, and not only is her neck thick, but the woman is immensely muscular as well. Now, Kyuala is not a small woman by any means when it comes to muscles, but this woman makes jolly green look simply toned with her arms alone. Terra also can't help but notice that her chest looks like two boulders hidden behind a tarp sized tank top. Finally, Terra sees two enormous shackles, the size of two conjoined cooking pots, wrapped around her wrists, but strangely enough, they're not connected by a chain.

Just as Terra's examination of the woman comes to an end, the extremely large woman says, "Would you like to say that to my face, snowball?"

Terra is taken aback, but she steels her resolve and takes a step closer to the bars, which Braxxas tries to stop, but to no avail. Terra then looks the woman dead in the eye, or as best she can, and responds. "I didn't realize you were deaf as well as dumb. At this point, I would rather take him with us. At least his ears aren't full of wax."

The air is sucked out of the room as a tense moment of silence between the two women begins. On the sideline, Braxxas hopes that Terra isn't turned into paste as she toed the line between bravery and stupidity. Actually, Braxxas thinks that she is so far on the stupidity side right now, that the line is nothing more than a speck in her vision.

Eventually, the tension is cut as the enormous woman begins to laugh. "Y'know what? This one's alright, Braxxas. She's got fire in her. There ain't a lot of folks with that any more."

Braxxas chuckles, obviously relieved that the huge woman hasn't crushed Terra. After his chuckle subsides, he then turns to Terra. "I suppose I should introduce you two. The overly sized woman in the cell in front of you is Clarva Mightenos. Clarva, the woman you called a snowball is Terra Tarron, one of the daughters of Holvaeth Tarron."

"Holvaeth Tarron, eh? No offense, but I've heard your old man is a bit of a bastard." Clarva says.

"That's one of the **** things I've heard said about him." Terra quips, making Clarva chuckle.

Clarva then asks, "So, what's this about your sister and the giants?"

"To give you the short version, my youngest sister has been cursed by the giants due to a stupid deal, made by a stupid man decades upon decades ago. We need to head to the giants and attempt to broker a deal to cure her of it. Either that, or..."

"You kill them." Clarva finishes.

"If need be. Yes." Terra replies without hesitation.

Clarva is silent for a moment, making Terra wonder if she's deciding whether she wants to go along with the group or not.

After a few moments pass, Terra asks, "So, will you join us?"

"Oh, absolutely! I was just thinking about the many, many ways to kill some giants!" Clarva says with a bit too much excitement.

"Well, since you two are in agreeance, I suppose I should let you out then." Braxxas says before fishing into his pocket to pull out some keys. He then puts the key into the lock before opening the cell. Before going any further, Braxxas then looks at Terra. "Now, usually I would take the cuffs off, but I could keep them on if you'd like?" He jokes.

"I think we'll take our chances with them off." Terra responds.

Clarva then gets real close to Braxxas, hovering her just around Braxxas' neck. "If these cuffs didn't stop me from doing it, you know I would strangle you right, don't you?"

Braxxas then looks back at Terra. "Are you sure you don't want to keep them on?"

Terra just chuckles as Braxxas then turns back to Clarva and begins releasing her wrists from the cuffs. The cuffs fall to the floor like anvils dropping from a building, and Clarva begins to rub the indentations from the cuffs.

"Ahh, finally. They've been digging into my damned skin for the past fortnight." Clarva then begins moving her arms around, feeling how lightweight they've become.

"So, I think it's time we introduce you to the others, what do you say?" Terra asks.

"Yeah, I think it's time I stretch the old legs." Clarva says as she begins to follow Terra and Braxxas as the trio make their way towards the stairs to the exit.