Risky Business *private*

[Grot]

Afternoon of the 28th Immanis
Season of Winter


Grot had only recently returned to the Mystique area, he wasn't entirely sure why he kept coming back to this wretched place, but here he was, wandering around the outskirts of the city. Grot made little effort to hide himself from the city proper, while he had no interest in entering Mystique, Grot had approached it's gates a few times, mainly to see what defenses the city held at it's gate for his eventual conquest of this worthless empire. To say he had caused quite a bit of worry each time he approached would be an understatement. The sight of a giant such as Grot was impressive to behold, at 17 feet tall he was a mountain of a giant, and his immense weight caused slight tremors with every step. His alabastor skin with it's thick grey veins running throughout gave him the look of a living marble statue with muscle upon muscle seemingly carved by the gods themselves.

For now however he had brought himself to a small clearing in the forests outside of town, not to far from the city itself, and well within view of the road. Having just finished his afternoon meal Grot was currently in the process of picking his teeth with the remanents of his latest meals femur. At the moment Grot was entirely unsure of what he wished to do next, in his quest for power and the glory of the giant kingdom. Last time he had been in this area he had met and taken Xando as his pet though she had promptly disapeared on him not a few brightenings later, yet he had continues on his journey to the far reaches of the empire. Rubbing his bald head with a free hand the giant decided to take a short nap as he leaned back against a rock and threw the remains of his meal far back into the woods behind him. Grot would decide what to do later, for now, he napped.

[Oracle]

When the giant awakened, he found that he was no longer alone. A new fellow had joined him in his little clearing -- well, it was little to him, not so much to the smaller folk that populated the Empire’s lands. The person across from him was dressed heavily for winter, and to disguise themselves -- a thick black cloak with a hood obscured all but the most basic guesses at his, or her, race. Noticing that Grot was awake, his guest stood up and brushed snow from their cloak.

“Pardon the intrusion,” he said, for it was indeed a male voice speaking to him. “I thought perhaps you were a reasonable sort of person, the kind that might... do me a favor. You’ll be well paid for it.” Pushing aside his cloak momentarily he withdrew a large rolled parchment, but he did not offer it to Grot just yet. He wanted to find out just what sort of person this giant was, and whether or not he was for hire. It wouldn’t do for him to ask just anyone, you see, or the target in question would quickly discover the plot and all would be lost.

[Grot]

It had been a pleasant nap, one filled with dreams of fire and destruction, the destruction of the empire. Grot awoke from his slumber with a contented smile on his face before he yawned and cracked his knuckles. It took a few moments for Grots groggy eyes to focus on the newcomer in his little clearing, whoever it was had busied themselves with the job of dusting snow off of their cloak. Grot wasn't particularly hungry yet, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a meal set for later, afterall, the lesser races were much tastier then the standard animal fare he was constantly subjected to. Whoever had decided to intrude upon Grot's little piece of the woods was wearing a thick black cloak, one that made it quite difficult for the giant to determine if he was about to eat a male or female, not that it mattered much to him.

Resting one arm on his knee, the massive giant arched his thick brow at the newcomer as the spoke. Apparantly his dinner guest was a man, either a very stupid or a very brave man at that. Grot spent a long few moment sizing the man before him up, it was nearly a full minute before the giant finally decided to speak in his usually unconcerned tone. "Do you a favor little one? I suppose I have already eaten and I am curious to hear what a little one such of yourself would risk his life to ask of me. Grot will listen to you offer little one but do not not waste my time unless you wish to be my next meal." Reaching forward, Grot would take and read the parchment if it was offered to him, although in passing he considered simply grabbing the man and crushing the life out of him.

[Oracle]

The man scowled up at Grot, not that the giant could see the frown under the heavy cowl. Holding up the parchment, he let it be taken from him. It was a large wanted poster, with a drawing of a certain female on it. The fact that the face was that of Elantria and not Shawntay made little difference, given the familial resemblance. The name of the intended target was Shawntay, and made mention of a sizable bounty on her head, to be collected in Imperia. After Grot had absorbed this information, his would-be employer spoke up again.

"This woman is here in town. Myself and my companions have a particular interest in removing her from the area. We will pay you for this service, and you are of course welcome to collect and keep the bounty. All you need to do is wait here, and we will send her to you. She may lie to you and say her name is something other than Shawntay, but then again this woman is wanted for murdering a priest. Make of that what you will. Now, will you do this for us?"

[Grot]

Grot took the parchment from the man, for whatever reason he had be handed a wanted poster. Looking away from the poster for a moment the giant gave his guest a strange look as he once again examined the portrait of the woman in the poster. The woman in the poster was not unattractive, at least by the standards of the lesser races but there seemed nothing remarkable about her. However he was interested in the offer of a bounty on her head if she were brought to Imperia. As much as the giant was loathe to admit it, he needed the currency used used by the filthy lesser races. Wealth on their terms would be the only way to equip a proper army, and pay for the skills he needed to learn to accomplish his goals.

The giant was not foolish enough to think that there was not more to this then he was being told, but the concerns and troubles of the lesser races meant nothing to the giant. "So, you are offering to pay me to take this criminal away from here, a woman with no small bounty on her head?" he snorted at the man before speaking once again. "Do not trouble me with any reasons as to why you wish this little one, but I will do this job for you. Simply supply me with a set of shackles to bind her with, the women of you lesser races have an annoying habit of making me waste my time chasing after them. Supply me with the restraints and lure the woman here and I shall do my part, but if I am crossed....I can assure you that you and your friends will suffer my wrath. How much will you be paying me for my services? The favors of giants are not cheap."

[Oracle]

"Done," the man said promptly upon Grot's condition of needing shackles. "I am supposed to offer you three thousand crowns for the work, one third payable now and the balance paid when you leave here with her. And the bounty is yours in its entirety, of course. As I understand it, it is in the vicinity of ten thousand crowns at this time."

Looking up at the sky thoughtfully, the man said, "We will deliver her here at this time tomorrow, if that will be satisfactory to you." Reaching into his cloak, he brought out a small sack filled with large-denomination coins and a few bank notes, adding up to roughly a thousand crowns. But he didn't give it to Grot until the giant agreed to the terms of payment.

[Grot]

The giant nodded slightly as his guest offered him the terms of the deal. The payment terms would be acceptable to Grot, after all one couldn't expect to be paid in full up front. "Yes, those terms will be acceptable to me, just be sure to leave me the shackles before she is to be brought here. Reaching out once again the giant waited for his apparant employer to hand over the first 1/3 of the payment. Getting an extra 13000 crowns into his pocket would greatly assist in his plans for reforming the giant kingdom he and his brethren had lost so many era's ago. "I expect to be paid promptly tommorow....or I may just see if the woman has any friends interested in knowing what you have tried little one".

************************************************** ***************

Grot had done little after his unexpected encounter with his new employer the day before. The giant had tracked down an evening meal and then simply gone to sleep on the other side of the large rock he had been leaning against the day before when his prospective employer had appeared. Now he could not be seen from the road or the clearing, but he could with ease spring from behind the boulder to capture his prey in the clearing. Over night there had been yet again another light dusting of snow, covering the giant and further obscuring his alabastor frame into the landscape he now hid in. Giants were a patient people who thought over carefully all their options before acting. He knew there was far more to this then he was led to believe, he was not stupid. Someone was going to be angry at this woman's disapearance, but he had the wanted poster and that would certainly be enough to earn him his reward in Imperia. Whatever troubles were caused by this woman vanishing were the concerns of the lesser races and no worry of his. For now he would wait, wait until his prey entered the trap at the appointed time.

[Oracle]

OOC: I think for continuity we should go in this order: Myself, Elantria, then Grot. Just 'cause I say so.

Elantria:

Shortly before midday, a youth wearing the livery and colors of the Tradehouse tracked her down. Grinning at her, he said, "I got a message for you from him," and handed over a small envelope. By all appearances it seemed to originate from Erenthril himself.

The message was short and to the point:

Ella,

I've been thinking about you all day, and all night, and most of yesterday. I think you should sneak away with me for a little while... come and have a meal with me outside of town, in the little clearing where the big rock is. I hope you come... we have so much to talk about.

Erenthril

Below the letter was a sketch of the clearing where the meeting was to take place. Ah, the wheels of temptation in motion...

Grot:

Shortly before the sun reached its position at the top of the sky, the same shadowy figure that had engaged him for the work appeared at the edge of the road, cutting aside to reach the rock where he waited. The man carried a large oilskin-wrapped package, but instead of leaving it with him and exiting stage left, the fellow lay down behind a fallen log, concealing himself to wait for the girl to arrive. Grot would probably find the chains laughably tiny and difficult to work, so he intended to stay behind and clap the chains on the girl himself.

[Elantria Lasseatra]

OOC: Aye, aye Captain!

Elantria was just leaving her home when the messenger caught up with her. From him... The redhead couldn’t help but grin, they both knew she would know exactly which Him. She didn’t have much money on her but gave the messenger a few crowns and her thanks as she accepted the note.

Reading it she could feel her smile growing wider and wider, they had been together the previous darkening and they did indeed have much to talk about. Popping back inside quickly to poke her roommate awake, Elantria told Cein were she was going and with whom in case he needed her then went on her merry way, an extra spring in her step.

~~~

When the redhead arrived in the clearing, it appeared to be empty, she checked the sketch again just to make sure, but this seemed to be the right place. Maybe i’m early?’ The half Elf mused in her head and wrapped her emerald cloak closer around her, the morning air was rather chilly at this time of year. Elantria walked over to lean against the large rock and wait for Erenthril to make his appearance, losing herself in the memory of their previous meetings.

[Grot]

Patience, it was a virtue that the members of Grot's clan had in infinate abundance. They had been waiting since the fall of the giant empire for the time to be right to unite the wayward giant clans under one banner and rebuild their ancient shattered empire. The Stonesplinter clan had taken upon itself this momentous task centuries ago, and wait they had all this time for the empire to begin showing the signs of centuries of stagnation. Soon....once Grot and his family had put their pieces into play, the great chess game would begin and from the ashes of this fething empire the giants would reign supreme once more. All it would take was patience that could rival that of the mountains themselves. The same patience Grot had shown by lying unmoving, covered in snow behind the rock with a decent view of the clearing since the previous night. The giant waited motionlessly, even as his 'employer' deposited an oilskin sack behind the boulder for him before moving and hiding behind a fallen log himself. Grot stared at him at casually wondering why these insignificant insects had hired him to take this Shawntay woman away instead of doing it themselves. In the end though, Grot thought it best not to concern himself with the silly reasonings of lesser races, what mattered is what the 12000 crowns he would soon earn would purchase him on his way to accomplishing the clans goals.

It was mid morning when his bounty arrived, she looked exactly like the wanted poster he had been handed the day before. Seeing Shawntay in the flesh, he supposed that to the lesser races, as Xando had been, she could be considered quite attractive. However, unlike Xando, it was obvious she was an abomination, a half breed mongrel that merely served to dilute pure bloodlines. Once again Grot was reminded of how pathetic these lesser races were, constantly weakening their blood lines by mating with races even lower then their own. That is how he saw this woman aside from bounty... a living example of the inferiorty of the lesser races for allowing such half breed mongrels to live and mate. Still, the time for his idle thoughts was over, his prey was within his grasp and had leaned against the very boulder he had hidden behind. Having never experienced such an event himself, Grot could not fathom what it must have been like for a lesser being to see him emerge from seemingly nowhere. While giants were not known for their blinding speed, they were not so slow as to be unable to make an impressive entrance. Standing as quickly as he could, the snow that had covered the 17ft tall titan cascaded off his marble like skin in a waterfall of pristine white snow.

Stepping forward quickly Grot moved to block the girls escape while she was likely still shocked from his sudden appearance before reaching down to quickly grab her by the waist and raise her into the air. "Shawntay...... I've been waiting for you." the giant said with a smirk as he moved to take her.

[Oracle]

It all happened so fast for her, no doubt... One moment she was dreaming lustily of naked elves and that trick he likes to do with his tongue, and the next thing she was multiple feet up in the air, firmly in the grasp of a giant. And he was calling her by her sister's name. Of course, the resemblance was kind of uncanny sometimes, and there was that flame-red hair to contend with.

The man behind the log waited until Elantria was suitably suspended, then calmly stood up and retrieved the bag, strolling up to Grot and his prisoner. All the giant had to do was hold her still until the fellow could get the chains on, then the pair could be well out of the region before Erenthril had any idea that she was gone. And that was the way it should be. The upstart Silrosian elf needed to learn a few lessons about civility and business dealings... and that was what Grot had been recruited to do. By the time the band of merchants were done with him, that slithery fellow would be long gone and they could go back to the way things had been for eras and patterns before him.

The fact that Grot was, in sum, going to cause a lot of problems for Erenthril was not something his employer was aware of, but if he had been... he might have paid the giant more.

[Elantria Lasseatra]

Fear. The cold emotion did not creep into the half Elf but rather slammed into her like a brick wall. It looked to the petite female that a small mountain had just risen from the earth and taken the form of a huge man, or more accurately a giant. Incredulous eyes widened and rose to stare at the brute in front of her as her mouth opened in a silent scream. Paralysed with terror as the giant’s hand reached down for her, Elantria couldn’t even get her brain to function enough to send the message to her legs to run. Too stunned was she to even register that he had called her by her sister’s name.

Thought faded, all that was left was an all consuming fear that prevented any deliberations and took away the redhead’s power of speech. Suspended in the air by the giant Elantria saw a man come closer and produce a set of chains from a bag. She would have struggled, would have fought to get free and escape but fear enshrouded her and it seemed to have shut down her nervous system. Her body was rigid and only her, usually bright, eyes remained mobile, widening so far they looked to be about to fall out. Yes it was safe to say that Elantria Lasseatra was not to have the day she thought she would, and unless this turned into a very cruel joke, things could only get worse.

[Grot]

It had gone as easily as he had been told it would. The mongrel half breed had shown up just as he had been told, and with little effort Grot had captured her. The girl had been frozen in fear the moment she laid eyes on his magnificent form. As a giant he suspected he seemed godlike to the lesser races at times, he was certain his prey agreed with that assessment given her reaction of absolute fear. His prey didn't even attempt to escape as he lifted her into the air, grinning like only a giant could as he stared at his prize. This mistake of nature was worth ten thousand crowns in Imperia, and another two thousand crowns were owed to him by the man now approaching to bind her in the shackles. This was to easy however, and Grot knew it, there was more to this then he needed or wanted to know. If the goal was merely to get rid of a criminal, this man would have taken in this whelp himself, it was quite obvious to Grot she was incapable of defending herself even from the likes of a maggot like the messanger. No, there was more to this, Grot was quite sure whoever was really pulling the strings wouldn't mind to much if the courier didn't return....and Grot was feeling rather hungry.

Waiting until the peon had finished chaining up his prey, the giant let her fall to the ground roughly before turning to the man that had hired him. "I believe you owe me another two thousand crowns now" the monster said with a twisted smile. Grot knew this man wasn't going to betray him, his masters wanted the giant to take the woman far away from here, double crossing Grot would only bring an angry giant to their door. Reaching out a hand, Grot waited for the remainder of his payment to be handed over. Regrettably for cloaked man, this would be the last job he ever did and unfortunately for Elantria, she would be forced to watch every moment of it. First things first though, the giant had to catch his meal before he could decide how best to eat him. The plan was simple enough, when the human reached out to hand over his payment, Grot would quickly clamp his hand around the mans arm before quickly grabbing hold of the other. Once this was accomplished, it would be time to get creative.

[Govannon]

Thanks to Grot basically paralyzing the woman with fear, the messenger had no problems chaining her up. Elantria would find that her ankles were chained together, as were her wrists. This would make things very difficult if she decided to try and escape, which was obviously the point. No sence capturing someone and then doing a shoddy job of chaining them up. The man nodded, pleased with his restraints. As Grot would be taking Elantria to Imperia, he handed over the keys and also a pouch with the last 2,000 crowns in it, the sum that they had agreed. He assumed this would be enough for the giant, but was obviously wrong as meaty fingers closed around his body and hauled him several feet into the air. This was something that he clearly didn't expect, that was for sure.

"Hey! What in Aeternia do you think you're doing?! Stupid hulking brute, put me down!" It seemed that he wasn't particularly scared of the giant at this moment in time. There was no doubt that this would eventually change.

OOC: Apologies for the shortness... feeling under the weather today... >_<

[Grot]

Everything had gone as Grot had intended, the woman was bound, his payment had been finished and his meal was hanging helplessly in front of him. A cruel grin spread across the giants alabaster face, his large, sharp looking teeth clearly visible as he brought his intended victim up to eye level. Large evil looking purple eyes examined the fresh meat he currently held... quite obviously sizing the man up for a meal as his licked his lips. "What is going on little one? I would have thought it obvious by now." the giant spoke in a disturbingly pleasant voice. "I don't think your employer will miss you...and I haven't eaten a thing all day" he growled as he let go of the man with one hand as he raised him high above his head with the other arm before whipping him down hard into the snow covered ground with enough force to shatter the mans ribs and rip the arm from it's socket, leaving it to hang limp an uselessly at the man side. Watching the man writhe in pain, gasping for air to scream with now that his rips were shattered, Grot chuckled and looked down at the prone figure of Elantria. "Are you hungry as well little one?" the giant said with a predatory laugh as he deposited the gold-filled pouch and key in a pocket on his animal hide pants. “Here, have this" he roared as he brought the broken and screaming form of the messenger up to his mouth and promptly bit the mans head off, sending a fountain of blood through the air splashing over the giant, Elantria and the fresh white snow they were surrounded with before spitting the head into the woman's lap.

With his prey dead, Grot had now only to revel in the feast of his victims flesh. Quickly ripping the corpses clothes off, leaving them in tattered shreds on the ground at his feet, the giant took a great bite out of the man's torso before ripping him clean in half at the waist, showering Elantria with the poor bastards entrails and spraying fresh blood over the area. Grot wasted little time in devouring his meal, dropping half eaten body parts and bones all around his red headed bounty, seemingly unconcerned with her reactions. Grot lost himself in his bloodlust, it having been so long since he had the opportunity to dine on the lesser sentient races, he enjoyed it entirely, stripping as much raw meat as he could off of every bone. Once he had discarded the last remnants of his meal to the forest floor below the giant unceremoniously reached down and grabbed the blood-soaked form of Elantria and dumped her into the large man size pocket on his shirt, initially sewn for Xando's use before running north towards Imperia.

Grot had a bounty to collect on after all.