Beldor gets a visitor

Beldor sniffed the air. The scent was faint, but it was there. There was no mistaking it either, despite not having smelled it in decades. Humans, there were humans nearby. That was strange, strange and unexpected. In his many decades in the Ohlmenwald he’d never known a single human to penetrate this deep into the woods. It was a near impossible journey for the fragile little creatures, with their short legs and huge appetites. He inhaled deeply again. There were definitely multiple humans too. How very strange. Beldor just kind of stood on the spot, unsure of what to do. Meeting some humans might be a nice diversion, he though, but then they so rarely reacted well to the presence of his kind.

The decision of what to do was taken away from him when, all of a sudden, the humans appeared in between the trunks of two huge trees. That was shocking, he’d not heard them approach, so he had not thought they were that close yet. Judging by that, and their garb, Beldor assumed they were experienced woodsmen. Even for their kind, though, getting here was an impressive feat.

They had stopped and were looking at him but showed no sign of surprise or fear. Beldor cautiously raised one of his huge hands and gave a wave. It was like the group of men let out a collective breath of relief. One of them threw off his hood, raised his empty hands, and slowly approached Beldor.

“Greetings, great one. How does this lovely day find you?” Beldor scracted his head. He’d never known a day to find anyone. The man seemed to understand his confusion and quickly rephrased his inquiry. “How are you today, master giant?” Beldor shrugged. He was doing well enough he supposed, his kind usually were. “I am fine, thanks. Bit bored.” The figure nodded and Beldor took that to mean that his reply had been adequate. “I might be able to help you with that. Would you like the hear a proposal? It is the reason we have sought you out.” So that was why they were here. They were looking for him. That was actually interesting. Beldor definitely wanted to hear more. He nodded.

The man smiled, clearly pleased. “Excellent. I am Eriam, and I represent the Order of Watchers. Our kinds are allies of old. Might I ask what you are called, master giant?” Beldor nodded again. “Beldor. Nice to meet you, Eriam.” The name of that order meant something to Beldor. It tickled some old memory. He really liked where this was going.