Fenris's Story

"L-lycaon, thank you very much." Fenris took the lute from the servant slowly, like it might metamorphize into a snake at any moment. He pulled at each string once with his index finger. "...it can be any instrument? Can it be multiple at once?" He could orchestrate an entire band. Hopefully a sufficient performance would make Klethi forget about his seduction sidequest.
"Liquor?" Fenris asked Nymeria. In Azal it was still morning. Regardless, "I don't like alcohol. If a milk or fruit juice can be substituted, I would be much obliged. I mean, I'm obliged at all to be welcome in Lycaon's great hall. But I do not wish to partake in quaffing from the chalice of inebriation. But I a appreciate the offer, thank you."
And there was a platypus. That could talk. And it had better manners than him? Well excuse me Ms. Nymeria, but he wasn't given an introduction by the goddess of awkward situations. "Are you Aeristhatia's champion?" He disregarded the goddess herself entirely; she didn't receive the same difference Hazarmaveth did. "I am Fenris. It is... a rarity to make your acquaintance. "If I may, noble platypode, may I suggest you refrain from using terms like 'robust' to describe women. It is my belief they prefer affections like 'perky.'"

Necessary divine training montage music- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYlkYkHkZxs
As the week before the quest went on our band of heroes prepared themselves for the journey ahead. Nymeria spent hours practicing her swordplay and archery and the others prepared themselves in their own respective ways. As time went on Nymeria's disdain of Fenris from his earlier advances slightly decreased as she grew used to the awkward elf along with the rest of her companions. As they prepared many of the various gods visited them to observe the various champions and take bets on whether or not the heroes would be able to survive their journey.

When the day of the quest finally began Lycaon called forth Borne, Nymeria, Fenris, Mercutio, Enyo, and Feroun into the great hall. The heroes stood before the god-king as he gave them his blessing for their journey. Lycaon had taken his most regal form as a handsome young man in his 30s with his silver hair, six wings, and kingly raiments.

"You may all have various opinions of the gods, myself, and my court; however, I do appreciate your decision to embark on this hazardous journey. Relations among the gods aren't going as well as they appear to you mortals and I fear if you do not acquire this adamant than I won't be able to stop the inevitable war or myself. I have watched you all over the past few weeks and beleive that you are among the best heroes the mortal world has to offer. Borne, you are a survivor capable of cheating death more than any other human being in history. Mercutio, you are freak of nature among freaks of nature; however, in being a sentient duck beaver thing you aren't what anyone would expect to be a hero and are therefore extremely useful. Fenris, you don't give yourself credit for what you can do and can be but I'm sure you can learn on the road ahead. Nymeria, your my own daughter and I know that you are both strong and clever, but do not let your pride and temper be your downfall as I fear the same traits in myself will inevitably bring mine. Before you go I have one last gift for you."

As he finished speaking a door opened in the side of the room and three wolves ran in to the center of the room obediently. The god king lifted his right hand and yellow beams of light flew from his hands and went into the three wolves causing them to fall to the ground and begin glowing and transforming before the heroes eyes. As the change went on the light grew until it formed a massive beam that shot strait through the floor and back into Etheria to create more of these new creatures. The glowing subsided and where the wolves once stood were now creatures that looked like giant wolves but with bodies better built for speed, endurance and riding.

"You have just witnessed a miracle at work. Something few mortals ever get to see. The birth of a new semi-intelligent race. These wargs will serve you as mounts. They have near human intelligence and are capable of understanding human speech though they cannot speak themselves. They will serve you well on your journey." as he finished speaking a silver light emanated from him until it filled the entire room and as soon as it subsided the heroes were on the outskirts of the Ulmish mountains with their wargs fully saddled and loaded with supplies.

Fenris had, fortunately, found quiet places of solace where he was able to test his gift without interruption and without bothering anyone. He asked where he could acquire food and drink, rather than requesting it be brought to him, had no preference for his sleeping quarters, and-despite the abundance the god-king experienced-asked for and took as little as he could. It was clear to everyone he was uncomfortable in Arkngthan.
More than once Fenris would be caught staring at his future companions. Despite his dislike for animals, Mercutio was treated well. By and large he avoided everyone when he could, especially when trying his new instrument. He couldn't avoid everyone when summoned by Lycaon, though. He stood in a line with everyone, near the center despite his preference to be standing on the wings, with a silver flute in his pocket. While he hadn't asked for much, he wore new clothes better suited to the mountains than what he had worn in Azal. Klethi was foremost in judging the collection. "Nymeria will no doubt kill a few things, but I still don't see how anyone expects one-arm to beat Fenris," she remarked while secretly betting very well against her chosen hero.
The display of wolves didn't impress Fenris. In fact, it annoyed him. It bothered him that Lycaon manipulated the world so carelessly. He also hated riding animals, so when they were instantly transported however many miles and dimensions away, he materialized in a bad mood. "I would prefer to walk."

(bah, sorry, burned out)

In the weeks Borne had spent much of his time to himself, and surprisingly kept relatively sober. When he wasn't trying to keep his skills sharp he was carving a piece of wood with his nail, talking to his ferret, and looking into a jar of black liquid. What interactions he did with the others were brief and at times awkward, but he tried to be more courteous than he was before. With the platypus he kept mentioning that Enyo is a talking animal too and that it was nice for her to no longer be the only one, likely to even Mercutio's confusion. It grew clear that he had very little interactions with other people, having hinted he essentially been raised by Hazarmaveth after his mother's death, some of it showed more but he remained relatively crude, sleeping wherever he felt tired not too unlike an animal.

At the time of the gathering he had taken his cloak and worn it specifically over his missing arm. It was clear from the weight that it was converted in order to hold his various instruments including knives and self-made devices, knowing well he'd need quite a few.

He squinted quite a bit in front of Lycaon, all the bright light was a bit much for him, in between each flash trying to make some he had tried to pose a question, then soon found himself atop a warg and not far from the Ulmish mountain border.

"Well," Borne groaned. "At least we are done zapping about... I think."

Enyo squirms in the pack on his back. As usual he acts as if this means something more than being restless.

"Huh? What? Yeah, did we happen to have a... plan?"

Borne grunted a bit at this sudden introduction, less than pleased to see a goblin, let alone one sent by... her. He clenches his fists, knuckles turning white, pupils dilated, hair starting to bristle from the back of his neck yet unseen through the cloak obscuring it. He draws back some like he is ready to strike and... ... ... sneezes. Enyo pops up from his pack with hair standing on end.

"Pardon me,." He says gravelly. "So... Skarruk? I am Borne, this is Enyo."

Borne paces around Skarruk, watching for any reaction, scrutinizing him. He stops and lets out a disappointed sigh, having noticed the strangulation marks and how unprepared he seems to be.

"Well that is a pity," he mutters under his breath. "Well, welcome aboard."

He points forwards to the trail for his mount to see, moving on down a trail to scout ahead.

"Oh well, might as well get moving now that everyone is here, and by the way, Skarruk..." He pauses, glances at Fenris and says something in broken but legible Gou'Toki, something he hoped only Skarruk understood. "Avoid the elf, Klethi cursed him with bad fortune and it could spread."

He wasn't going to take any risks, even with an unprepared wretch as he.

Watching, eh? In that case I hope she finds what I've got in store very entertaining. He grins under his scarf as he continues on the trail.

As the heroes materialized on the boarder of Ulm's lands Nymeria stretched out her arms. She hated living in Arknghtan were her father was in control, but here in the wilderness there were no masters and servants, just a vast wilderness perfect for adventures.

"Gotta love divine teleportation." she said cheerfully. "I was only about four when I had the fortune of experiencing it for the first time." When she heard Fenris's complaint regarding riding she responded by saying, "I don't think you have much of a choice but ride Fenris my perverted friend. The mountains of the giants is too dangerous to stay in one place for too long and we'll cover more ground on these magnificent beasts than on foot. Anyway it looks like this one likes you and it would be a shame to hurt her feelings." as the demigoddess spoke she mounted her own warg.

"Of course we've got a plan." she then said to Borne. "We ride into the mountains, retrieve the adamant before Ulm notices, and kill anything that dares get in our way."

The young woman's excitement was quickly drained when she saw Serena and the Mother's champion enter the portal. Nymeria had little love for goblins. They had killed several of her former comrades in battle and she had sent a good few dozen of their number to join her fallen allies. She had to admit that she did like the spider creature though. She wondered if she were to ask nice enough if she could try riding it or if she could get it when its master was killed on their quest.

Nymeria was surprised that Karvana also showed interest in Borne; perhaps, he would be a far more useful companion than she thought. After Borne and the newcomer had finished speaking she rode over to Skarruk and offered him her hand.

"I'm Nymeria. Daughter of Lycaon, Thane of the Elven high-kin, slayer of the dread dragon Belirand, and champion of the god-king Lycaon. I am glad to meet you and hope your spear will be of use to our party."

Fenris felt his cheeks grow hot when Nymeria called him a pervert, but he chose not to even look at her until she said the worg liked him. "...how can you tell?" He looked at the creature, which minutes ago didn't even exist. Or did it? Just as a normal animal. There went the "gods" meddling in life exactly like they shouldn't.
Fenris approached the animal and spoke quietly with his back to his companions. "Hello. My name is Fenris. I hope you don't mind, but I think I'm going to have to ride you. I'll try not to be heavy."
Fenris recognized the language Borne spoke in but didn't understand the words. He placed a tentative hand on the wolf-mount's neck before half-turning back to the rest of the party. He had the most neutral response to the appearance of the goblin. "...hello." Goblinoids were the lowest tier in Azal society; as a species they were regarded as slow, and their failure to grasp arithmetic or literacy made them easy to dupe and swindle. Azal had no laws against tricking a less intelligent gambler. But Fenris didn't judge people by their ability to judge outcomes, and most of his experiences with goblins made him more pitiful than distasteful. "I am Fenris." He did not have any desire to make introductions. He had much desire to get this done quickly. "Mercutio, would you like to share my saddle? Or I can empty one of these saddlebags, and we can travel akimbo." He played with buttons and rifled through the contents of the bags on his side of the worg. "This one carries only food, and is a perfect size for you. Unless you prefer more room. Mount, I do not know your name. If we shared a language I would ask it. In case somehow you do understand me, that platypus is Mercutio." He pointed. "Would you mind if he accompanied me?" Fenris may have looked silly talking at the creature, but he regarded it seriously, taken great concern in receiving some sign of consent.

Mercutio Looked warily at the goblins, hiding his discontent behing dignity. "Salutations, dear friends. I am said to weigh no more than a loaf of bread, so do not fear for your strength!" He took a flourishing bow and waddled over to Nymeria. Remembering Fenris's advice on terms of endearment, he attempted some light conversation. "My dear gal, Fenris would like to inform you that he thinks you are very porky! Although I am not very familiar with terms of endearment, I believe that to be very kind indeed, and so I do say I must agree. You are very porky, my dear! " He patted her leg, (as it was all he could reach,) and walked away back to Fenris and the goblins, smiling with glee. "I can ride however you may need me to, Fenny!" He enjoyed the feeling of giving one a "nickname" as it made him feel closer to his Fenris's level of intelligence. "I can even take the reins If you need me to! However, I would be most comfortable in one of your wolf-pouches, as well as anywhere else." All things considered, Mercutio was quite timid around the beast, but felt somewhat safe around Fenris.

Skarruk's black eyes jumped from person to person, trying to measure them as he evaluated their gear and potential valuables in the back of his mind. His nose was assaulted by the new scents and smells that were almost overpowering from the mangy smell of the over-sized wolves, the smell of human's, dew from the planets, to the atrocious stench of an elf that nearly made him gag as his stomach rolled threatening to spill his earlier meal over the side of Shebaba.

His gaze snapped to the human male... thing. His nose said it was human but also something else. The missing arm would, normally, point at a weakling and perspective target, but considering the size of the group, Skarruk wasn't sure he wanted to pursue such a thing just yet. If he looked closer, he may have been able to pick out the differences between his face and the human female's face, but they all looked just as alien and hideous as the other to make such an action, especially at the time, not a notion that passed his mind.

His body jerked in the saddle when the human spoke in broken Gou'Toki, Skarruk only had a very rough understanding of the 'common' tongue and did not expect another to be able to speak the tongue of his kind. Even though it was... terribly done, broken with an atrocious accent, it was better then when the Herald spoke as her lack of... anything in her voice had been incredibly disconcerting. Skarruk had no idea who this 'Klethi' was, and he had no idea why the human man, Borne, thought he would want to get closer to the foul smelling elf. Even now, the stench was assaulting his nose, how they could stand to be around such creatures surprised and amazed him, he had heard tell of cowardly, weak goblins that were exiled from their tribes and made way down to the realms of the weaklings and had learned to overcome the stench of the elven kind, but Skarruk could not fathom how that was possible.

Movement snapped his attention to the human female, the one who radiated danger and sent his instincts screaming to flee, she grew closer, and his grip on his spear tightened when she held out her hand to him and started to talk. He had no idea what some of the words were like 'thane' or that it seemed this 'Lycaon' was some sort of deity to her. But he did understand the word Dragon. She had killed a dragon? His first thought was she was lying, obviously, but his instincts told him it was true. If she wasn't so hideous as the rest of her kind, he may have been able to tell what she was saying, but their facial expressions were as alien as they were bizarre.

His black eyes fell to her hand... what did she want? Skarruk had no idea why her hand was just sticking out to him like that... Did... Did she want tribute?! That had to be it! Why else would she show weakness by extending an empty hand to him unless it was in confidence of her victory and the demand of tribute for his life!? He almost struck out at her hand, but if he did, he would die. If not from her, then from the wolves. Growling, he bent down to reach in one of the satchels that hung from Shebaba and removed a small, black obsidian stone and pressed it into her hand, his heart breaking at having to give up even one of his valuables.

Fenris didn't think he smelled bad.
But Fenris didn't think about himself very often. He stooped to collect the little Mercutio and, holding him in one arm, blindly emptied one of the saddlebags. Perishable foods fell to the ground, ignored while Fenris gently set the platypus into the saddle bag. The whole time he watched the warg, who had lowered his head and showed no sign of offense at the elf's actions. He slowly reached out and set a hand against its fur. "Mercutio, while I appreciate your confidence, I am not who you should try to learn your social niceties from. I have not met many women who like to be compared to swine."

Klethi watched the elf's actions with a cross of emotions. She was moved by his concerned for other creatures (something she never understood), but annoyed that he did not rise to Nymeria's insult. I should have made him more racist, she thought. I was hoping they'd be at each other's throats already. She was still in Lycaon's throne room, watching the proceedings. "Your young Argonaut is quite shapely, isn't she?" There was no harm in banter. "I've been told you designed her yourself. Kind of weird, wanting your daughter to look like that. Were you afraid the whole adventuring shtick wouldn't work out and she'd have to fall back on whoring? I'm sure there's plenty of brothels with clientele that would love making quasi-gods. 'I am Nymeria, slayer of Belirand. Want to have sex?' Can't say there's many more appealing offers than that." While it was her fullest attention to mock Lycaon, her tone was uncharacteristically neutral; she was too focused on Fenris for effort. "You know, she actually looks quite a bit like one of the girls in Azal. I don't remember her name, but she's known for miles around for this thing she does with her legs..."

Fenris grabbed the saddle and was about to hoist himself up when the buckles snapped. The saddlebags remained where they were but the seat slid right off. "...that's unfortunate." He stood there, holding the saddle in one hand, looking like a child who was waiting for his adult to fix the situation. "I believe, Ms. Nymeria, that despite your wishes I will be walking after all." The thought of riding bareback didn't even cross his mind as he discarded the seat. "Sorry."

Klethi finished an overgraphic description that a more prude god might have cringed at. "...but that's all for naught; I'm sure she'll be questing until she's old and gray and bending over breaks more bones than could get put in her." The goddess shrugged. "It looks like introductions are finally over. Your daughter's kind of a bitch, though."

Fenris wasn't perturbed by how quickly he ran afoul poor luck. It was a fact of life he had learned to accept and ignore. "...will we be going now, then? I assume our respective patrons would like to see this done quickly. Not that I'm rushing anyone."

Borne hears the "plan" and rubs his hand across his forehead. To him it just sounded like: Break in, kill stuff and get the adamant. Even to him this sounded reckless.

"Ulm is a craftsman on top of being incredibly strong," He states flatly while scratching his shoulder. "Added, he's likely guarded by constructs of some kind."

He turns back and looks at his group, looking for any response from each of them, even for anything non-verbal. He then turns to the warg he is riding upon and grins.

"My first order: you will serve as my equal," He seems to be talking to the warg now. "You're free to make any suggestions or comments, things like that... or in your case gesture or act on them..."

He looks back to the others again.

"Guess we'll think of something on the way there, and deal with whatever gets in our way until then."

Nymeria was surprised when the goblin riding the massive spider offered her his stone of obsidian. "I'm really not sure what to say. Thank you." she said slightly flattered to the goblin. She wondered if he wanted a gift back and she searched her pockets for something of equal value. She found her bag of silver coins and took several out. She knew goblins didn't use her kind of money but that they would find silver valuable and a suitable gift. She put several of the coins in the goblins hand as a response to the stone. Perhaps her first assumptions regarding the goblin were wrong.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by Mercutio greeting her and describing her as porky. She had never been called that in her life. The demi-goddess knew it wasn't the platypus's fault and instead directed her anger towards Fenris. "My dear amphibious friend, you should never call a woman porky." she said to Mercutio. "Go over and tell Fenris that if he says anything like that again then he will become very intimate with my swords." she was relatively annoyed at the elf's decision to walk but at this point she didn't care as long as he was willing to keep up. He'd be riding soon enough.

"I like Borne's idea. It'll be getting dark soon and I want to cover as much ground as possible."



Far away back in Akgnthan Lcaon patiently listened to Klethi's comments as he watched the heroes. He was tired and couldn't wait to see this whole adamant business be finished with but at the same time he had to admit he was interested at watching how his daughter did. "Klethi my dear there is far more to Nymeria and her allies then meets the eye. Its true that she is a bit of a bitch, I think she gets that from me, but her heart is in the right place and when worst comes to worse she will gladly lay down her life to help her companions. Even your Fenris. Now come with me. I'm tired of this place and I have heard that Kurn is watching the quest at his temple with a wide variety of gods and mortals. He has this thing called popcorn that I would love to try."

Skarruk watched the human woman, Nymeria, with trepidation to see if his tribute would be accepted or not, and to his relief and pain, it was deemed acceptable. To his surprise, she dug into a pouch, one he took special note of and would keep note to look for any such bags on the others, and produced several silver coins. He had heard the other races use such coins as payment, he had found a few himself left behind by adventurers or taken on raids, of course, the goblins preferred the superior way of bartering, or stealing, for goods.

His black eyes rested on the coins in her outstretched hands. A trade? Was that what she wanted? Had she been trying to measure his worth by seeing what he could offer then providing a trade afterwords? If so, he approved. This, Nymeria, had a lick of goblin sense. Reaching out, he took the coins and placed them in one of the numerous satchels, "Good trade," Skarruk said, his squeaky voice rang out with a nod of confirmation along with it.

'Ulm' yet another name he did not know, but the others seemed to. Was he supposed to know who, or what, that was? It seemed that was where they had to go, to this 'Ulm'. Skarruk wasn't sure what they were doing, but if these people were going, this... 'Ulm' had to have valuables worth taking.

"Shebaba," Skarruk said, tapping the spider lightly on the flank. Shebaba chittered in response, her large fangs rubbing together to produce the unique T'sukan Spider sound. His body rode with the odd movements and motions of the large spider as it approached a nearby tree and scaled up its rough surface as simply as one might take a stroll along the road. It came to rest on one of the large bottom branch, while the branch bent from the weight, it made very little sound and no leaves were dislodged from the 'light' step of the spider.

He had taken the high ground not only because it was safer, the leaves above provided him more shade from the harsh sun, and it got him a bit further from the new found smells, some of which which were going to be hard to get used to. When they moved, he would have shebaba jump from tree to tree to keep pace.

"Well, I didn't want to be the first one to say it," Klethi teased with a smile. "But I think she gets it from you, too. With all due respect, of course. Anyway, are you inviting me as a guest to another god's function? While I'd never turn down a date, I must warn you that you will be responsible for my actions. And my actions are often quite liberal. We may adjourn if you would like to try this 'popcorn' invention. It sounds ghastly, though; what would corn be popped for? Wouldn't that just make a mess?" Now she was quite interested. "Perhaps I will learn its secrets, and Fenris will find himself without suitable vegetables for the duration of his journey."

Fenris watched the exchange. He kept no money on his person (in fact his only possession besides his clothes was the magical instrument). "...is it customary to exchange gifts?" He wouldn't be the first to challenge tradition; he slid what then was a lute from his pocket, but the goblin had mounted his spider and bounded away. "...we will trade later, then?" He held it up to Nymeria. "Or would you like it? Your father gave it to me." Was I supposed to give him something back? I didn't offend him, did I? He was, once again, lost, misunderstanding and over-analyzing social ques.
"I have no intentions of calling you porky," Fenris blurted in an attempt to change subjects. "I don't think you look like a pig at all. Except for obvious mammalian qualities, like hair and lack of fur, of course. Right. We should be going, then." He turned back to the warg. Obviously it couldn't communicate in a language recognized by any of Fenris' companions, but it shifted in such a way that gave him pause. His brows came together for a moment, then parted in understanding, and he spoke a language that was near elvish but rolled with growls and purrs. They two communicated (albeit awkwardly) while everyone else was no doubt waiting impatiently to get started.
"...then I shall all you D'artangion!" The declaration clearly wasn't received well; the warg shook its head. "You're right, that name is silly. Perhaps Recidiver? Then that shall be your spoken name." It was difficult to approximate a language with no spoken qualities to one the rest of the party could use. "Let us be off, then, Recidiver. Mercutio. I will go first." Without waiting for confirmation, he started walking.

A patrol approached the intrepid party on the borders of Ulm's lands. It consisted of three giants-at-arms and led by the steel-skin giant, Orest. He led the three soldiers through the woods, moving in a lithe manner. The stonewardens had seen a peculiar group of people materialize near the border, proving Ulm's suspicions true. Ulm himself was sitting in his throne, waiting. Orest was sent to intercept this party.

The giants appeared to a clearing on the path, facing the travelers. They almost towered over the trees nearby, standing in a ready pose. Perhaps they were startled, perhaps they tried to fight or run, but either way Orest delivered his line in a sultry, yet monotone and almost echoing voice:

"The All-father demands to know your business here. State your reasons truthfully and ensure co-operation."

Orest's expression showed no change. It was probably capable of producing expressions, but it wasn't needed at the moment. Nevertheless Orest heard exactly what he thought he'd hear. He registered the remark at his weapons and made a demonstration of power. He unsheathed his second sword from the left holster, swinging it like it was a part of his body. He struck a swift slash at the air and rested the sword at his side.

The sword was very balanced and thin in structure. It seemed like it was a living organism from the looks of the hilt and the handle, seeing as they were almost fused together in a sleek and organic manner.

Orest then sheathed his glimmering sword and spoke with his trademark monotonous yet sultry voice:

"Hmmm, i see. Come along then, we will escort you to Heimstaed. The All-father is expecting you there."

He raised a metallic brow and looked at the party expectantly.

Fenris, obliviously, continued to walk straight ahead as the giants approached. His warg's hearing, smell, and general ability to detect huge creatures proved more effective; it stopped and set a paw in the road before Fenris. "...what is it?" He followed its line of sight to the servants of Ulm. If he was distressed by their appearance, it was well hidden.

"The All-father demands to know your business here."

"I have come to sequester his supply of adamant." Fenris saw no reason to lie. "I can't necessarily vouch for the intentions of my companions." The warg had maneuvered beside him, placing Mercutio between them, low to the ground like it was ready to pounce or flee. Fenris put a hand on its back. "If you promise not to harm my companions, I understand I am trespassing and will surrender myself to your custody. I would like to see that you let my friends-Mercutio and Recidiver-return home unharmed, however. While I do not doubt the majesty of Heimsted, I do doubt a semi-aquatic mammal or an overlarge wolf would enjoy the subterranean." He didn't expect to like it very much himself, but he wasn't trying to negotiate for his own comfort.

"Nymeria might be an accomplished swordsman, but she stomps around clad in armor carrying weapons. Fenris? He sacrifices himself immediately for the good of his friends. You may have made a demi-goddess, but Fenris made himself a paragon for selflessness. How much are you willing to bet your daughter wouldn't even stub her toe to save an orphanage, Lycaon?"

As Fenris spoke Nymeira put her palm to he head. Borne was able to talk the giants into letting them pass but it sounded as if Fenris was negotiating terms of surender. Why would he ever tell the massive giants that they planned on stealing Ulm's adamant? She appreciated his honesty but this was the time for deceit. She put her hands on her sheathed twin adamant swords and readied herself to draw her blades in a moments notice.

"I apologize about my friend here. He's a bit of am idiot normally and he has been hitting the mushrooms hard if you know what I mean. I too like my colege Borne have been sent by the gods to purely observe your adamant and potentially negotiate a trade. There is no trespassing involved since we have been sent as representatives of our masters and would only ever enter your magnificent lands with your permission."

As she spoke she sized her opponents up. The three regular giants were of little concern. There size made them easy to outmaneuver and a good trip could leave them incapacitated. It was te fourth figure that she was worried about. She had never seen a creature like Orest and she had trouble figuring out what the metal giant was until the truth dawned on her. To her horror Orest and her were two of a kind. He was a god made being designed to be the perfect soldier. They both had the same weapons, as far as she could tell the same fighting style, and worst of all they both had the same purpose. The bigest physical difference she noticed was how try were constructed. He was made of metal and flesh while she was composed of ichor and flesh. She wondered what was better. The giant was also different in that he lacked free will. Was that the biggest difference between them? She wondered.

Nymeria was for the most part unfamiliar with fear. She had experienced it before especially in her fight with Belirand but this was different. She was always comforted in knowing she was designed to do what she did. Now she faced another being designed to be a divine champion. The only question that remained was Lycaon or Ulm better at it?

Nymeria knew that fate would ordain that they would be forced to fight and determine who was better but she didn't want to foght him now and with her friends potentially in the crossfire. She hoped he would take he apology and let them go through without expecting any foul play.


Meanwhile far away at the Temple of the Minds Eye a lone travelr wanders on and stumbles to the gods gathered there and anounced that he had found an adamant apple in the woods with the inscription "To te fairest of the gods" inscribed on it. The man then fell dead leaving the apple to the gods themselves to settle.

A quizzical expression appeared on Orest's metal face. He eyed at Nymeria and Fenris for a bit and then spoke:

"It wouldn't be very wise to disregard the All-father's wishes, he has invited you all to his court in Heimstaed. This is not a typical occasion to let outsiders inside the Wall of the Covenant and we would not like to question our lord's will."

Orest's face turned back to it's plain expression. His master Ulm does not have patience for frauds, especially at a time like this. He spoke again with a more serious tone, if that is even possible:

"So listen up. Either you comply to our and ultimately His orders and come with us, being treated as guests, or you turn away and never come back. This is your last chance at hospitality from Him. What say you?"