“Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!” A crowd was chanting at the Redwater Inn within the town of Red Wake. At on table in the center of the establishment, two men were downing pint after pint of dark ale. The table was surrounded by empty mugs and bottles, and people cheering on one or the other. A human man at one end of the table tried to drink the next pint, but his face turned pale, and he vomited out the mass of drink already in his stomach. There is sound of disappointment from some in the crowd, but the majority cheered as the man’s apponent, Boris, drank down his twenty-first pint of ale and kept it down. “The minotaur wins!” A serving woman shouted, signaling the end of the drinking contest. Boris’ buffalo face did not betray how drunk he was, he just sat there quietly, trying not to pass out. It had been three days since the goblin caves, and the party was enjoying some relaxation time with their profits.

Kara was happy to collect sack after sack of coin from those who she bet on with. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, better luck next time.” She had a friendly yet telling smirk on her face, and she patted Boris on the shoulder. “Not bad, big guy! We made off with an additional 27 gold! Course most of this will have to pay off all the ale you drank.” This inn was much like any other, a bar at the western end with wooden stools. Several round wooden tables and chairs, with the walls and floors made from hardened red clay, just like the rest of the town. Candles sat in iron chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, illuminating the drinking, and eating and gambling that was taking place there. Boris stumbled and waddled to another table, where the rest of them were waiting. Alydrezea had a worried look on her face, and gently rubbed her brutish friend’s back. Kara scooted into a chair, smiling as she counted out the coin, and the dark elf saw the pile of gold coins on the table. “Hey Kara. Why do you like these bits of metal so much?”
The thief held one coin up, between her finger and thumb. “This ‘piece of metal’, my sweet star child, is what makes the world go ‘round. It helps fund armies and farms, it builds nice solid walls. It keeps the Wilds from the Cities.” The amber-skinned woman flicked the coin into the air and caught it again without looking. “And it makes a lovely sound with you flip it into the air.”

The druid’s grey grow furrowed. “What’s wrong with the Wilds?” She asked, confusion mixing with indignity.
“Oh I dunno…maybe it’s the harsh weather? The dangerous wildlife. The legions of goblins, and gnolls, and dragons and God’s know what else!” Kara clarified with her own attitude. “You know every attempt to settled pasted the Mountains of Mercy? Except for a few small farms and the Fort-City at Sungard, all the attempts to settle the Wilds have failed! Not that I care much, but it is clear the Wilds don’t want us there.”
Alydrezea couldn’t help but think on that, her graceful finger tapping on her chin in an ungraceful manner. “Maybe you just didn’t ask the Wilds nice enough?”
The thief rolled her eyes. “Spare me druidic sermon.”
“Hpmh!” The drow huffed in a pout, putting up her purple hood. “When a tiger tries to eat you, don’t come crying to me.”
“Very funny, Alydrezea. Alright everyone, now it’s time for the hard talk. We completed the job here, and we got a lot of money to throw around now. There’s enough for each of us to live off of for a good while. So, do we stay together? Or do we split up?”
The others all gave her confused looks. “Split up?” Grukk repeated, not understanding her.
“Yes. Split up. Go our sperate ways. Part as friend and all that crap.”
Alydrezea slammed her hands on the table. “Why?! Why would you want to split up?!”
“Easy now, it was just a simple question. Look, if you’re worried about the money I already split it up evenly between-“
“I don’t care about the gold! Gold is stupid!”
“Hey! Don’t say things you can’t take back.” Kara warned, only half joking. “I don’t get what the big deal is. We stuck together because we had too, but now we don’t have too.”
There was a silence that fell over them. “Don’t we?” The smoot baritone of their resident half orc broke the awkward silence. “A unit is stronger together. As long as we stay out of the Capital, we shouldn’t have to worry about our less than savory past. However, the world is a dangerous place. Our chances of survival are greater if we travel together. Especially if we continue to do sells word work like we’ve been doing. Not to mention, we can take on more dangerous jobs and get greater pay for our trouble. Kara, have your profits gone up since your time with us?”

The thief though on that for a moment. “More or less…Grukk, you’re talking like you want to turn us into a mercenary crew.”
“Maybe not mercenaries…at least, not all the time. But I do have an idea. I did more researched with Edwin today. According to legend, there was once an ancient empire of Giants that ruled over half the continent! If we can find ruins or remnants of them, I can learn more about these runes! You all saw what one could do, imagine what two…or three, or five could do!” The rune knight became more excited as he explained his own, personal plans. The drow’s pale eyes lit up like stars, sharing in the half orc’s excitement. Boris even perked up his bovine ears a bit. “There may be giants still living there…it would make for an excellent battle and trophy.”
Kara waved her hands to bring the conversation to a halt. “Whoa whoa whoa! Back up! You three are saying you want to go wandering off into the Wilds….to look for the ruins of an ancient empire that may not even exist! And you want to fight giants and claim some lost treasures?!”
Grukk brought up a greyish-green finger. His scale armor making small metallic sounds as he moved. “I didn’t say I wanted to fight giants.”
“I did.” Boris clarified immediately. Kara rubbed her forehead, hazel-eyes closed and locks of her dark hair falling to the sides of her face. “I cannot believe what I’m hearing….” She went quiet for a while, and the others all watched her. They were right to believe she was coming up with a plan of sorts. Her eyes opened back up. “Alright. Fine. I’ll go with you. But we need to make some ground rules. I only have one; I am not going to walk into certain death! I love gold, but I’d like to be alive to enjoy it. Anyone else?”
Boris’ gruff bass voice spoke up next, “If you are the one to make a kill, you get first pick of whatever your prey had on it.” The party nodded in agreement. Alydrezea went next, “If we come across any sacred druid groves….uh…please don’t burn them down or anything.”
Finally, Grukk. “When it comes to any treasure we find, I want first claim to anything that can help me understand these Jötunn runes. Anything else, we split evenly among us. Evenly.” As he emphasized, he gave a warning look to their lovely pickpocket.
“Why are you looking at me?” Grukk was about to clarify, but Kara put her hands up with a nice smile, “Kidding, Kidding. I’ll keep my hands to myself…or rather, I’ll keep them off of all of you.”
“Aaand?” Their giant-loving half orc insisted she say it. Kara sighed in annoyance. “And I won’t take more than my cut of the loot.”

Satisfied with her finally saying it out loud, Grukk pulled out a world map. “There is one more problem….none of the legends or records make any mention of where this ‘giant empire’ was located. I have no idea where to start.” As the party looked over the map, and were guessing about where to go, Kara’s eyes lit up. “South. Let’s head south. Look, if nobody in the kingdom of Iroas knows about these giants, then maybe the Dwarves of The Obsidian Pass do. If they don’t then..maybe even further south, or south-east?”
The others looked over the map, and Grukk gave Kara a worried look. “South-east? That would put us into the Living Desert.” He spoke of the place as if it were cursed. Kara’s hands fiddled with a gold coin, nervously rubbing it with her thumb. “Hey, if we get the right supplies, we’ll be fine. I’m from Raja, originally. I know the desert.” She spoke with a false but convincing confidence.
“Why would the giants build in a desert?” Alydrezea thought out loud as she looked at the map. Kara rubbed the gold coin harder, almost bending it. “W-well, maybe it’s the best place to hide? Look, the desert holds lots of secrets. I’m sure we’ll find something. Unless anybody has a better idea?” After a moment of looking to each other and looking to the map, they agreed to head South.

“Great! Then lets get some supplies and start moving. I’ll buy us more rations and potions.” Grukk stood from his seat, “I have a new weapon I’d like to buy. Boris, Alydrezea, you two should buy some tents and extra waterskins.” With a plan to march into a desert, the party quickly made their rounds to buy supplies in Red Wake and met near the town’s south gates. Kara handed everyone a few healing potions and more rations. Boris and Alydrezea had extra waterskins, all full. Grukk had a new weapon strapped and sheathed on his back above his shield, a huge two-handed blade with a guard angled downwards. “A greatsword?” Boris asked, and Grukk smiled up at his horned friend. “A claymore, to be precise.” The minotaur gave a look of approval at the large blade. “I also sold my longsword, in exchange for simple flail.” The soldier patted the right side of his bet, where hung a heavy mace-head attached to a wooden handle by an iron chain. The chain was coiled up like a hose and tied with a strip of leather, so the flail-head did not drag on the ground.
The curious druid looked at the weapon. “Why did you get rid of your old sword? Wasn’t it all magical now?”
Grukk laughed. “I can transcribe runes I know into any weapon or object, provided it is made of the right material. Besides, you never know what you’ll be facing. In the army, the taught us the importance of having a weapon for any occasion. With the claymore, flail, shield, and hatches, I should be ready for most anything. Sometimes a blade doesn’t cut it. Hahaha!” Kara facepalmed, and the other two groaned at Grukk’s pun.
“Alright, that’s enough, Solider Boy. It’s about four day’s travel from Red Wake to The Obsidian Pass. It should be well traveled but be careful. Trading routes always attracted bandits or worse.”
“At least we won’t be bored! Right, Boris?” The drow smiled up at the minotaur from under her purple hood, and the horned barbarian grinned. “Right.”

“But if it’s going to take so long to get to the Pass on foot, why not just get a boat?”
Kara raised a brow, with an unamused look painted on her amber face. “Oh!” Her voice changed, now sarcastic and condescending in tone. Though still was a sweet sound. She likely had a lovely singing voice. “And do you know how to sail? No? Then we charter a ship. But wait, Red Wake doesn’t have a port! We’d have to go all the way back to Iroas! You know, the city where we’re wanted criminals. Besides, the Dwarves of the Pass don’t have a port to sail into.”
The druid felt embarrassed at the realization of her ignorant question, she grumbled under her hood. “Stupid prison lady…always talking like she’s knows everything…could get Boris to throw her into the Ocean.”

Boris patted his small dark elf friend on the head and followed Kara and Grukk down the road. It was a muddy red, and there were no more woodlands flanking the road. Their boots and feet and hooves stained with clay as the sun traveled its arc across the sky. The only encounter within the first few hours, was a supply cart. Pulled by two draft horses, driven by one driver, and flanked by mercenaries on horseback. The cart driver was Ironian, but his escort looked different. A few of them covered their faces with shawls and bandanas, or wore turbans died bright orange on their heads. Their skin was dark from long exposure to the sun throughout their lives, and they wore the desert clothing typical of the people of Raja. On their backs were bows, and on their sides were scimitars. Swords that had a wide, curved blade. Very different from the long and straight set blade of your average longsword. Kara hid her face from them as the cart passed by. Alydrezea and Grukk both took notice. While the druid walked next to Boris, Grukk moved to catch up to their pickpocket. “Those men were from Raja, yes? Do you recognize them?”
Kara cleared her throat, not looking at her companion. “No. No, not them. I guess I just got a bit nervous. I’ve been away from my homeland for a long time…we should keep moving.”