Donna nodded to Ola in thanks and took a mug in silence, taking a small sip before speaking.
"At the very least, if some giants were to come this way, they won't catch us too off-guard—I've got someone looking out for them around the perimeter now. Discretely, of course—she shouldn't give the residents a scare."
edited 17th Aug '14 3:27:19 PM by NaomiHansen
"I do not approve of the fact that my favorite quotes are too long for this character limit." - MeEventually, a trickle of dwarves start appearing in the doorway, sitting themselves around the table with the Scions as Ola brings in the tea. The last one to arrive is a truly ancient dwarf in old workman's slacks and a red shirt, his snow-white beard reaching the ground when he walks, occasionally getting tangled slightly in his walking stick.
"Lódi," Ola said. The old dwarf nodded, then responded. "How many of you survived?"
"Just me." Ola shook her head. "Just me. James made them think I was pregnant and that strange things could happen if they fed me their eitr. The rest were turned into trolls." She gestured at the Scions. "They killed the last of them."
Lódi snorted. "Better dead than a troll. So, what's your story?" He pointed his cane at the gaggle of Scions. "How'd you come to Røros, and why?"
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies."Well, there's some giants near here who are trying to end the world," Jake said. "And we're trying to stop that. This world's all we have for now, you see. We were looking for them in Røros when we found this lovely young woman, and rescued her from the giant who was there. She told us she was from Bixby Knoll, so we were dropping her off here and going to see if we could help out while we were here."
Lódi shook his head. "No idea what this Heart of Winter thing is. Do know Gunnar Forsson, though."
One of the dwarves slammed a magazine on the table featuring a quite frankly ridiculously muscled shirtless man on the cover, followed by a picture of him in a business suit. The article within the magazine itself was titled "Gunnar Forsson, Norway's #1 rated millionaire bachelor."
"Runs a company up in Oslo. They sell energy drinks. He's hiding in plain sight."
Ola chimed in. "We were kidnapped by giants while out buying supplies for the town. We can make almost everything we need ourselves, but we do occasionally need to go out. Took us to the mine."
edited 19th Aug '14 8:17:28 AM by math792d
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies."Well the long and short of it is that he is tampering with powerful evils, and we are on our way to put a stop to his wicked deeds," Jake said. "But while we're here, if anything is troubling you, such as some of Gunnar's boys hanging nearby, we thought we could help out, given that our goals are somewhat aligned. We can take care of your giant problem, and while we're doing that we'll see what we can learn from them, or find what clues we can on them. Our path led us to where your people had been, so we're all connected I figure."
He looked at the old dwarf in the eye. "And are there any mooses around here?"
edited 20th Aug '14 4:37:27 PM by nman
Donna was already starting to grind her teeth at the inane chatter coming from most of the other Scions, but outside of a slight glare at her mug, she kept her irritation to herself and just took another sip of her tea.
edited 20th Aug '14 9:27:55 PM by NaomiHansen
"I do not approve of the fact that my favorite quotes are too long for this character limit." - Me"Here's the thing, though." Lódi looked around at the Scions while lighting a pipe. "We haven't had any giant problems before now. The ones who kidnapped Ola and the ones who went with her have never visited Bixby Knoll before. Gunnar might have told 'em where the place is, but they've never come close to here before."
"And if you don't mind me asking, what in the name of the Allfather's beard do you need a moose for?"
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies."Well they're pretty big, kind of like a bull," Jake said. "These giants are warding things off from Donna, so we won't know what's waiting for us. I figured having one with us would be useful. Plus with how cramped that car is, maybe I could just ride on it instead." He chuckled a little.
"That last bit was a joke..." he added. "But anyway, if these giants didn't attack you here, where were you buying supplies at when it happened?"

"Of course, we'll still be happy to pitch in if you can't help us with the Heart," Val said quietly. "Especially after your kind hospitality."