Zarius is growing sick and tired of having to deal with the Clasp. How many times had he traveled to Moonglade specifically to raid one of their many hideouts in the hopes of finding clues as to Athena's whereabouts? Too many for his liking.

Being associated with the Fighter's Guild and it's tarnished reputation was quickly losing its luster and making things increasingly more difficult. The fellblood now had to be careful of mentioning his association with the guild, especially in Sol City and the Marsh Flats, or else he may run into trouble with the locals and authorities.

While he wasn't involved in either recent incidents, many folk didn't know that and simply have lost confidence in the guild having any competent members amongst their ranks. It was frustrating, but there was little he could do about it given that even the guild's acting leader had a habit of going a bit overboard.

As much as Zarius considers Shaa an ally, he couldn't help but doubt his suitability as a leader. This is part of the reason why the fellblood has chosen to return to Moonglade and pursue the Clasp yet again. Perhaps if Athena was found, she could help salvage the guild's reputation and take the pressure and burden of leadership off the minotaur's shoulders.

Word on the streets was that the Clasp leader had managed to recruit some literal Giants to his side. Seemed the bandit lord had no shortage of power even after all of the efforts to take him and his group down. Still, eliminating these Giant pains has to have some sort of effect and maybe even put the leader on the defensive.

Accompanying Zarius for this task is his silent and tall half-elf ally, Eirynor. The fellblood had considered bringing along more of his group, but some dark and disturbing rumors floating around Darkveil gave him second thoughts and instead he left Snow and Shael behind to keep a close eye on the Rookery and his parents' estate. Eirynor had been reluctant to leave Eameia's side, but tagged along after some reassurance from the young mage.

Traversing through the wooded lands of Moonglade, the pair move unseen and silent.^[1,2] Taking out even a single Giant was no small feat, so they would have to be cautious with their execution. As they scout the area rumored to be the last place one of these Giants was recently seen, Zarius pauses and listens for any movement in the underbrush.

The sharp snap of a twig catches his attention and he quickly darts behind a tree trunk to stay clear of whatever was coming. Listening closely, he frowns. There weren't any heavy footfalls or rustling of the canopy. Whatever was moving about the woods was not as large and lumbering as their intended target.

Peering around as the figure approaches, the fellblood recognizes who it is immediately. He steps out from behind the tree and lets the shimmer of invisibility fade away.

"Xalmann? I am surprised to see you out and about, should you not be lying low?" He asks the lizardman as Eirynor also reveals themself and joins the two guild members.

He of course has heard that the Crown was looking to question the lizardman for his involvement in the disastrous raid of Lilicors Village carried out by the infamous Mud Worms and their brutal leader Jagger.

While Zarius wouldn't criticize the man for choosing to support the raiders in that conflict, he was curious as to what exactly he had gained from fighting Shaa, a fellow guild member. Perhaps he had his good reasons, or perhaps the lizardman had bad judgment. Seeing as he was out here in Moonglade not too far from the Marsh Flats, either was believable.

The half-elf eyes the red reptilian with suspicion but does at the very least give a nod of acknowledgement to the fighter. 

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Post Requirements: 6 post per person, 200 words per post
Description: We have them now! Recently several guild members have raided known bandit hideouts, trying to find any information about Athena and why the Clasp is involved. Well, we have discovered a document indicating that she has indeed been taken by the bandit lord. We now have everything we need to launch an attack on the main head quarters. But before we can cut the head off of the snake, there are a few large things in our way. Javian has appointed Giants as some of his generals. These things are going to be a major pain in the ass if we try to strike full force, so instead we are asking members of the guild to find these Giant generals and slaughter them. Once we have culled their ranks, we can take on Javian and recue Athena!

[1] Invisibility
[2] Silent Step

Xalmann had been lowing low for some time, but had finally decided he'd had enough. Keeping a low profile was fine, but he had his own goals to accomplish and he wasn't going to let the incident at Lilicors keep him from those goals any longer.

He just had to do something to repair his reputation enough to not be wanted by all the local guards. Helping deal with a criminal organization seemed like a fine way of doing that. He'd already had a run in with the Clasp before, and fought them. This shouldn't be too hard even if they had recruited some giants into their ranks. Surely helping to free the true leader of the Fighter's Guild would net him some positive opinions, hopefully enough to forget what happened with Shaa and Jagger and redeem himself. The raid on Lilicors was something Xalmann wanted to forget himself, but how could he do that with a permanent reminder attached to him?

Xalmann stepped forward, his cloak pulled around to hide his left arm. He returned the nod to the man standing with Zarius. He wasn't very shocked to see Zarius suddenly appear. He had seen him turn invisible before. He was already acquainted with the Fellblood and had a decent respect for him as a warrior, but he didn't recognize the other man at all. He seemed to be a companion of the Fellblood though, so not a threat.

From Zarius's question, it was obvious he knew already what kind of trouble Xalmann was in. At least he wouldn't have to try to explain it. And it looked like Zarius wasn't planning to attack him for what he'd done. If he did, he wouldn't have become visible again. As another member of the Fighter's Guild, of course he would be well informed of the situation. Maybe now was a good opportunity for the Lizardman to explain his intentions and regain some good will in the Guild.

Xalmann shook his head. "No. Not anymore. I will fight the Clasp. Fix my reputation." He explained simply.

Zarius exchanges a look with Eirynor before looking back at the lizardman.

“Really? We can help you with that. We are also here tracking down the Clasp. Neither Eirynor,” he gestures to the tall half-elf, “nor I are particularly heavy hitters, nor do we have magic at our disposal. Your skills would certainly turn the odds in our favor.”

The fellblood had seen what the lizardman was capable of against very large creatures. While the man took a more direct approach compared to the sneakier rogue, he was able to deal a lot of different damage and hack his way through an enemy’s defenses well.

Though a Giant is a formidable foe, between the three of them they should be able to take it down without too much trouble if they were lucky.

“We are trying to find evidence of the Giant passing through this area, if we spread out we can cover more ground.”

Zarius walks over to the lizardman while rummaging around in one of his belt pouches before pulling out two items, a potion vial and a small orb on a string.^[1,2]

“You can take these, the potion will help you move silently for a short time while the orb will let us communicate even if we cannot see one another.” He hands the two items to Xalmann if he will accept them.

“The area that way is clear, so we have been moving deeper into the woods heading northward. We are not too far from the seaside cliffs. The Giant may be hiding in some of the sea caves at the base of the cliffs, but we may find evidence of wood for a fire or foraging up here as well,” he explains as he gestures in the direction he believes he cliffs to be near.

“What do you think?”

---

[1] Potion of Shadows
[2] reflavored Talking Head

So Zarius was out here looking for the Clasp and their new Giant recruits as well. That was convenient. The two of them had fought together a couple of times before and they'd proven to work well enough as a team. He still had yet to see what Eirynor could do, but if he was one of Zarius's trusted allies, he was likely to prove useful. According to Zarius, Eirynor wasn't a heavy hitter, but he must have some skills of his own.

Xalmann looked to the two items that Zarius was offering. He was usually a very stoic individual, not easily showing his emotions, but now there was just a slight hint of embarrassment on his face as he considered his options. Either awkwardly struggle to try and take and put away both items one-handed, or just reveal the source of his shame. It wouldn't be that difficult even if it was a bit awkward. But, if they were going to fight together, it was likely it would be revealed anyways. Giants weren't easy opponents that he could get away with fighting half-heartedly. He might as well get it over with.

Xalmann nodded. His cloak pushed aside, and thorny black and grey roots and branches twisting together into the shape of an arm emerged and took the orb from Zarius while he took the potion in his right hand. He tucked both into pouches on his waist. With just a grunt of affirmation, he turned and walked off, beginning to search for evidence of the Giants.

Zarius glances down at Xalmann's new appendage. He doesn't say anything or draw attention to it, the lizardman didn't seem like the type to want to talk about personal things. Still, was something to keep in mind. It could either be something that hinders the lizardman's fighting ability, or make him even more dangerous than before. 

As Xalmann heads off, Zarius and Eirynor both turn back to being invisible and stalk off silently to either side of him.^[1] They flank his position but slowly fan out to the sides to cover more ground and provide an early heads up in case something spots the lizardman making his way towards the cliffsides. The two move silently through the forest and keep a keen eye out for any traces of the Giant general.^[2]

Eirynor pauses by a large tree, noting that bark had been stripped off of its trunk, but that was likely due to a passing deer rather than a Giant. 

Zarius glances about at the canopy, looking for broken branches up too high for any local fauna to reach, but everything is quiet and undisturbed. 

The silent half-elf keeps moving forward. Eirynor steps over a fallen log then feels the ground give under his weight. 

To the side of Xalmann, there's a loud snapping sound of branches which spooks some birds off into the air. Zarius glances that direction and quickly circles around, but Xalmann would make it there first if he decided to see what happened. 

Eirynor had accidentally fallen into a pit trap obscured by fallen foliage and uprooted mosses. The pit was alarmingly deep, at least thirty feet deep and fifteen feet across. The bottom had been filled with sharpened sticks and shards of stone, but somehow the half-elf managed to avoid getting impaled and instead just landed hard on the rocks. His invisibility broke, and there was a good chance anything nearby would have been alerted to their movements. 

Zarius catches up and looks over the edge into the pit. "Are you alright?"

The half-elf struggles to sit up and just waves their hand. 

The fellblood sighs and looks at Xalmann. "That is a no."

Another loud snap of wood sounds out behind them along with some heavy footsteps. 

"Shit." Zarius turns back invisible and takes cover behind a nearby tree. 

---

[1] Invisibility
[2] Silent Step

Xalmann's attention snapped to the loud sound nearby and he went over to see Eirynor lying at the bottom of the pit, between the wooden stakes and rocks. So, the bandit group had set up some pitfall traps in the area, probably to protect them from any approaching enemies, just like them. That, or catch some food. It would take a lot to keep a group of Giants fed. It was just unfortunate for Eirynor that he had found this trap for them the hard way. He nodded in agreement with Zarius's assessment. The man was out of the fight for now, unless he or Zarius had some way of healing him. Xalmann didn't have any way to help him right now.

And it didn't look like their enemies would give them much time to help their comrade out anyways. Footsteps that loud could only be one thing: Giants. They must have heard the sound of Eirynor's fall and come running to check their trap. Xalmann ducked into some bushes and pulled out the potion Zarius had given him. He said this would make him quieter, right? He tipped the bottle back into his mouth and gulped it down. Almost immediately, he noticed a difference. Every movement he made that brushed against the leaves around him no longer made even the slightest noise. That was useful.

From his hiding spot, Xalmann watched as two Giants emerged from the trees and walked over to the edge of the pit to peer down into it. Hopefully, Eirynor could turn invisible again. If he couldn't, well, at least he'd make a fine distraction for Xalmann and Zarius to catch the Giants off guard. It might not end well for him though.

---

Potion of Shadows (from Zarius)

Eirynor feels the ground tremble with each heavy footfall. He manages to painfully drag himself over to the side of the pit and the invisibility flickers as he struggles to concentration on it through the pain shooting through his arm. It's possible it was broken, but there was little that could be done about it as the two Giants loom overhead.

One of them snorts and says something to the other, speaking in a gruff language neither Zarius nor Eirynor understood. The other nods and goes over to a bush and pulls out a bunch of ropes.

Zarius frowns as he watches the giant start pulling on the ropes which tighten and lead down into the deep pit. 

Eirynor covers his head as some packed dirt comes loose from the sides of the pit and showers down on him before he feels the ground start shifting under him. Turns out, the Giants had lined the bottom of the pit with a net before they scattered the rock shards at the base so they could retrieve anything that fell in easily. 

The giant hauls the net up with Eirynor stuck inside it. At least the Giants did that work for them, only problem now was that they could easily use the injured half-elf as leverage. 

Zarius glances around for Xalmann. The fighter probably wouldn't show too much concern for Zarius' companion's safety, so he would have to act quickly and get Eirynor away from the Giants before Xalmann started an all out fight.

The fellblood pulls out the little orb and whispers into it. "There could be other traps in this area they could use to their advantage, unless they look like they might kill him, let us follow quietly and see where they take him."

The Giant that hauled up the net pokes at Eirynor with their finger, laughing at the half-elf's expense before throwing the net over their shoulder and following the other Giant back the way they came. They left a decent trail to follow, but with all the branches they left broken in their wake, it would be best to not follow directly behind in case their hearing was anything good. 

Zarius silently creeps forwards and flanks the Giants, trusting that Xalmann knows a thing or two about stalking prey. 

Xalmann was already preparing to sneak attack the Giants from behind, pulling out his axe and dagger silently as he stayed crouched in the bushes, but stopped when he heard Zarius's voice coming from the small orb he'd given him. He put his dagger back on his waist again and pulled out the orb, holding it closer to his ear hole to listen.

So, he wanted to wait to attack and let the Giants show them a safe path back to their hideout. A reasonable enough plan to the Lizardman. The only problem was what might be waiting for them there. Two Giants at once was already going to be quite a fight, especially with one of their allies literally in the Giants' hands. If there was another one at the base, or even several more, they'd have a problem.

Xalmann wasn't the emotional type, and didn't have any love for the man he'd just met, but between waiting and being lead back to their base or attacking now, Xalmann thought attacking now just might provide the better chance for the man's survival. But, it was Zarius's companion on the line, so he would let Zarius decide what to do. He nodded and put the orb back in his pocket.

Then he realized the orb only conveyed sound, and Zarius wouldn't know he had just nodded. He pulled the orb out again and gave a quiet grunt of affirmation before stowing the orb again. Hopefully Zarius didn't notice the short delay in his response. While he was still hidden, he put his hands together for a moment and summoned the ghost of another Lizardman. In a short, hissed conversation in the Lizardfolk language, he ordered the ghost to search for any more traps in the area and scout out the base of the bandit group, just in case anything happened before the Giants took them all the way there.

He silently emerged from the bushes to follow behind the Giants at a safe distance. Despite Zarius's plan, he watched for a good opportunity to either land a heavy blow to one of the Giants or to free Eirynor from the net on one of their backs as he stalked them through the woods. He had experience stalking prey before, both hunting for food and watching targets before a raid. Even with his replacement arm still being a bit new to him, he was confident since this sort of situation fell right into his area of expertise.

Zarius wasn’t completely of a different mind than Xalmann. He knew that waiting could be riskier than attacking right away. They had no idea if the Giants had some sort of hideout with more friends hanging about. If they were unlucky, they could easily lose Eirynor to the Clasp or get overwhelmed by enemies themselves.

There was little Eirynor could do on his end. His own blade wasn’t well suited for cutting himself out of a net and he had no other weapons on him. It didn’t help that he very possibly had a few broken bones which made every jostling movement from the Giant painful for him.

As the Giants trek through the forest, the trees start to thin until there is little tree cover left to hide behind. Soon, the Giants emerge from the woods and before them is a cliffside that drops off steeply with the ocean spreading out across the horizon. Waves crash against the shoreline at the base of the rocky cliff and a few seagulls soar lazily carried by the coastal breeze.

The Giants start along the edge of the cliff. Perhaps there was a pathway down to the shore somewhere. It wasn’t clear. Zarius skirts along the edge of the forest and watches closely to see what the Giants would do.

Eirynor glances down at the edge of the cliffside. Giants were pretty top heavy and the cliff was worn from being battered by the ocean waves. While he wasn’t keen on trying to throw his weight around to topple the one carrying him, if it came to it, he would take the risk of plummeting to the rocky shore below.

It isn’t long before the Giant not carrying Eirynor pauses near a large boulder perched near the edge. He grunts as he pushes on the boulder, shoving it back out of the way revealing a narrow path down the cliffside. It wasn’t a very good way to hide a pathway, but it wasn’t like there were many people out here to find it anyway.

The Giant carrying Eirynor starts down the pathway first while the other gets ready to move the boulder back into place.

Nope, this wasn’t good. They needed to attack now, otherwise Xalmann would have no cover to hide behind to continue tailing them. Zarius speaks into the orb again.

“I will grab the net. See if you can knock the other one off the cliff.”

Zarius focuses on a point near the Giant with the net and a screeching sound of a bird emanates from the space.^[1] The Giant turns his head, startled by the sudden noise.

Zarius wastes no time and closes the gap between himself and the Giant then quickly scales the side of the looming figure.^[2,3] Pulling his fist back, he slams his knuckle knife into the fingers wrapped around the net Eirynor was trapped in. The fellblood’s invisibility breaks and the Giant howls in pain, dropping the net. Eirynor starts to fall down the cliffside when Zarius manages to loop his tail through the net and catch it, but the tall half-elf's weight drags Zarius down and he just barely manages to catch onto the cliff's ledge.^[4,5]

---

[1] Minor Trickery
[2] Dashing
[3] Spider Silk Boots
[4] Prehensile Tail
[5] Iron Grip

Xalmann didn't waste the opportunity. With one Giant howling in pain, the other one looked surprised by the sudden appearance of the Fellblood on the other's back. With that distraction, Xalmann summoned one of the spirits of his fellow tribesmen, a shorter but bulkier Lizardman who grinned goofily.

Xalmann could roll his eyes at the Lizardman's demeanor, but nevertheless he required their presence. Just by being near the spirit, Xalmann felt the power of his magic grow stronger as a ball of fire burst into existence at the tip of the axe in his hand. With a swing, the fireball flew straight toward the distracted Giant and exploded against its chest into a massive wave of flames. Luckily for Zarius and Eirynor, the explosion didn't reach them hanging from the cliff. The force of the explosion forced the Giant to stumble backwards, right toward the edge of the cliff.

The Giant flung its arms out to the side as he began to teeter on the edge, trying to keep himself from falling over to what would definitely be his doom. For a moment, he thought he might have succeeded in regaining his balance, but then an axe sunk itself into his chest. With that last bit of push, the Giant went over the cliff, axe embedded in its chest and patches of its clothing burnt away.

Xalmann held his hand at his side and his axe reappeared in it as he looked to the remaining Giant who was coming to his senses now that the surprise of Zarius's sudden attack had faded. The remaining Giant looked back at the Lizardman in anger, having seen him send his partner falling to his death. He forgot the two easy targets hanging from the cliff beside him.

---

Spirit Shroud
Massive Fireball
Arcane Focus
Always There

The Giant Xalman attacked goes tumbling back, falling hundreds of feet to the sharp rocky shoreline below. The impact of the Giant's less than graceful landing makes the ground tremble and knocks a few stone loose from the cliffside. Zarius manages to keep his grip but one swift stomp from the remaining Giant would easily send himself and the half-elf falling to a brutal death.  

Clinging to the cliffside, the fellblood swings his legs to plant the soles of his boots against the sheer rock surface which they quickly stick to.^[1] He then reaches down with his one free hand and grabs net, carefully pulling it up so Eirynor can reach through and grab onto the ledge while Xalmann has the remaining Giant distracted. Once Eirynor pulls himself up onto the ledge, Zarius gets up and helps untangle him from the net. 

It takes a while though, and meanwhile the Giant stomps over to Xalmann, drawing a nasty looking battle axe. The Giant quickly closes in on the red lizardman and goes for a wide sweep in hopes of taking the fighter's head clean off. 

Zarius hears the combat ensuing up the slope and quickly gives Eirynor the little blue amulet from around his neck.^[2] "Heal yourself up," he instructs the half-elf before running back over to help deal with the hulking behemoth. 

The half-elf takes the amulet and uses it to heal his wounds. Pushing himself up off the ground, he turns invisible and sneaks up to watch the two Fighter's Guild members confront the Giant. All in all, he wouldn't be that helpful, but perhaps he can at least be a distraction if needed. 

---

[1] Spider Silk Boots
[2] Essence of the North

As the Giant Approached angrily from the cliffside, Xalman prepared himself for the fight. Glancing past, he could see Zarius was pulling himself and Eirynor up from the side of the cliff. He'd need to handle the Giant alone, at least for a moment. He imbued the blade of his axe with a spell and pulled his dagger from his waist with his wooden left hand.

Xalmann ducked under the sweeping club, bending his head low and practically dropping into a crouch. He felt the air rush by overhead behind the club that would have hit him hard enough to remove his head clean from his shoulders. As quickly as the first one had been taken care of, he knew this Giant shouldn't be underestimated.

He kicked off, dashing forward toward the Giant while he was open, his club still out to the side after his wide swing. Xalmann ran between the Giant's legs, his axe slicing into the calf on his right while his dagger slashed the calf to his left.

The Giant let out a roar of pain and horror and stumbled. The spell in the axe sapped the energy from the Giant and made a wave of fatigue wash over them as the slash from the dagger paralyzed them with horrible visions of a Lizardfolk village burning to the ground.

---

Vampiric Touch
Arcane Focus
Dagger of Torment

Zarius runs up to aid Xalmann in bringing down the Giant. It looked like the lizardman had already started hacking away at the Giant's legs which, when it came to taller bipedal foes, that was the only good way to bring them down to their level.

That said, the Giant is tough and not keen on taking a knee so early. The Giant's fortitude would be difficult to whittle down and its stamina might outlast their own. Taking that into consideration, they needed to work smarter to take it down faster. The longer the fight dragged on, the higher the risk of one of them being punted off the cliff. 

The fellblood quickly considers his options then looks at Xalmann. "Keep hitting him low. I will try to hit him high."

Xalmann was a skilled and strategic fighter, Zarius was confident that he would understand what the fellblood was trying to accomplish with that simplistic plan.

Not wasting any time, Zarius takes advantage of the paralyzed Giant to run up the back of its legs and onto its back, quickly scaling its body until he reaches its shoulders.^[1] He grabs onto the Giant's thick and greasy hair and then throws his whole body weight back to try and pull the Giant off balance.^[2]

Easier said than done. Zarius didn't weigh very much with his lithe frame being more akin to a light weight boxer or acrobat and the Giant had a very thick neck with strong shoulder muscles supporting it. 

The Giant grunts in response, still reeling from the magical effects of Xalmann's weaponry, but standing sturdy all the same. 

Zarius glances down at Xalmann and watches for him to make his next move. If they got the timing right, they should be able to have the Giant come crashing down which would open up an opportunity for Xalmann to go for more vulnerable weak points such as the neck and head.

---

[1] Surface Scaling
[2] Iron Grip

With the Giant fatigued by Xalmann's spell and Zarius on his back, it was impressive he was still standing, but it wasn't by much. Xalmann turned back and swung his axe in a wide, sideways chop throwing it straight into the back of the Giant's knee. The blade buried itself and forced the knee to bend with a roar of pain from the Giant. Combined with Zarius's weight, the Giant was forced completely off balance and started to topple like a freshly cut tree.

Xalmann ran out of the way, not wanting to be flattened beneath however many tons of Giant was coming down. With a ground-shaking boom the massive man fell flat on his back, sinking slightly into the ground from the impact and leaving a Giant-sized imprint in the dirt.

Lying on his back, the Giant had no time to rest. Xalmann immediately took advantage of the vulnerable position, his axe back in his hand again, and ran over to chop his axe down into the Giant's throat. On a smaller target, they might have cleanly beheaded their opponent, but the Giant's neck was incredibly thick and the skin was like a beast's tough hide. With as much force as he could muster, the axe embedded its entire head into the neck, but that was only about half way through it. Still, that was plenty to slash the Giant's throat, making blood gurgle from his mouth and pour out of the wound.

Zarius rolls off of the Giant as it comes crashing down to the ground. Quickly jumping back up onto his feet, he watches the lizardman chop into the Giant's neck, but the dense muscles stop his swing from carrying all the way through. The Giant coughs up a gush of blood and makes a last ditch effort to grab at Xalmann. 

The fellblood darts over and slams his fish into the Giant's arm to deflect the grab while the wrappings around his arms lash around the Giant's wrist. Zarius leans back and tries to restrain the Giant as best as he can to give Xalmann the opportunity to finish the job. Just because they got the Giant down didn't mean that his death throws were any less dangerous than his actual throws. 

The Giant wasn't ready to give up just yet. How dare these puny little flies underestimate the sheer might of Giantkind. The Giant pushes against Xalmann, burying the axehead deeper into their own throat. They out muscle the fellblood trying to pull on their arm, making Zarius' heels skid across the ground as they pull their arm back. 

Raising their great club, the Giant threatens to swat them both like flies just as Eirynor appears out of invisibility and sticks his thin, needle-like rapier deep in-between the ribs of the Giant. The Giant gurgles a retort in pain before choking on their own blood and collapsing back on their back, leave Xalmann another opening to finish the hack job.