As Takoda started to lead Hymir towards the Jumper, the Ettin caught sight of me and stopped and looked down at me. "And who might you be, stranger."
"Drew," I answered. "I'm the guy that saved that meat-head from being monster lunch," I added fearlessly, causing Takoda to snort.
Hymir's enormous pecs bounced once each before he took a step closer to loom over me. He smiled. "You seem a bit too scrawny for such a boast."
I frowned. I'm not stupid, I know a challenge when I see it. The question is; how to deal with it. I could just ignore it, laugh it off. I doubt this guy would really do anything. But I'd probably look bad in his eyes. Just zapping him would be unlikely to be appreciated either, it didn't feel like that sort of challenge. This felt more like postering, so a show of force. That's fine; I can put on a show, that's what I'm all about. I triggered my static field ring, my tremor ring, and then my eye glow ring before I summoned my magic and let lightning arc over my body and collect into my upturned hand in a ball of blazing plasma. I speared the older Ettin with a glare.
"Come and have a go if you think yer hard enough!" I challenged with a confident smirk I didn't entirely feel.
We stood like that for a few moments, the smell of ozone thick in the air. It went on for so long I was starting to seriously wonder if I had misread the situation and was about to get a fist, that I noted was much bigger then my entire head, slammed through my head. I was intimately aware of the fact that this guy likely had the same magical resistance that Hagrid possessed. At this range, he would likely be able to tank my assault long enough to get his hands on me. And that was the end of that. My best chance was to apparate away and attack him at range.
Of course, if I did that I'd likely be hit in the side by Takoda, because as friendly as he was he had known these people longer. I felt sweat start to break out on my brow, this could go so bad if I'd misread the situation.
Hymir smiled, and it was like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, the atmosphere immediately lightened. He chuckled. "You have some stones on you to call me out, Slim."
I let my smirk widen. "You don't get anywhere if you let people push you around."
"Well said!" Hymir proclaimed with a laugh before he rested a great hand on my back. "I think I like you. Come, let's see what you and the runt have brought me," he said and started to lead me towards my shuttle. "That's a curious craft you have here, where did you get it?"
"I made it." I told him simply,
"He claims to be a Master Enchanter," Takoda said from behind us, and I noticed a note of disbelief that he had obviously been hiding until now.
Hymir stopped and gave me a considering look. "Indeed? Then you can layer ten charms on an object without degradation?"
"I've managed twelve, but I can do eleven reliably," I informed him with a nod.
That got me a raised eyebrow. "That's quite the claim. Do you have anything to back it up with?"
"Not with me," I said. "Not that I have anything to prove to you..." I leaned back and gave Takoda a look. "...or anyone else, for that matter."
"Well, if you don't think you could handle a demonstration..." Hymir said leading, I gave him an unimpressed look.
I gave him my best "are you kidding me" look. "Reverse psychology, really? What do I look like, a two year old?"
"To me, everyone looks like a two-year-old," Hymir stated amusedly.
Baugi snorted, "Being two-hundred and eighty-three years old helps with that, no doubt."
"Hey now, don't go telling everyone how old I am," Hymir said in mock-reproach. "It detracts from my mystery."
"Ahah..." Baugi drawled, unimpressed, "Mystery, sure, sure."
"We doing this, or should I leave you two alone?" I snarked.
Hymir laughed and patted me lightly, for an Ettin, on the back and we continued. The two Ettins had to bend down to enter into the Jumper's hold. I heard Hymir gasp when he first saw the gathered deer women, who were looking back with varying levels of fear and apprehension at the sight of the two giant men, that dwarfed their late oppressor, by a good margin. I saw them quickly usher their children into the center of their group to protection. I looked around until I caught the eyes of Dyani and gave her a reassuring smile and was gratified with her starting to quietly reassure her kin, hopefully preventing mass panic.
"Táqti Wa'ú." Hymir murmured quietly, causing me to turn my attention to him. I was a bit startled at what I saw. I'd assumed his gasp had been one of shock at the bedraggled state of the deer woman. But now, as I beheld his look of almost childlike wonder, it was as if he was seeing a unicorn for the first time, as he looked out over the gathered deer woman.
"What was that?" I asked him.
Hymir started, as he was coming awake, and looked down at me. "Táqti Wa'ú."He said again. "I had thought they were extinct. Where did you find them?"
"Wait, hold up. You know who they are?" I asked incredulously.
Hymir nodded distractedly as he turned his attention back to the deer women. "Táqti Wa'ú, the Deer Women. Mysterious beings that inhabited these lands when I first came here, long ago. They were rare even then and I ever only met one. But they disappeared soon after the European's came here, and you wizards with them. I had thought that they must have been killed off for some reason."
"Yeah not so much," I told him darkly. "The Beast the meathead was hunting had some sort of fixation with them. The way I figure it, he hunted them down, captured them, and then traped them in the cave where we found them."
He gave me a concerned look out of the corner of his eye. "Captured them, for what purpose?"
I didn't bother to suppress the wince. "Sex slavery... and food."
Hymir looked at me in shock for a moment and I heard Baugi mutter something and the sound of splintering wood and the sharp sound of metal being put under stress. That stein would not be of much use after this. Hymir expression quickly contorted into one of towering fury for a moment before it relaxed into one of cold neutrality. The deer woman could obviously sense his anger because they backed up some and Dyani gave him a wary glance before she caught my eyes. I smiled back and gave her a reassuring gesture.
"I see," Hymir growled finally before sighing and clearing his throat before calling out in a deep clear voice. "I would like to bid you all welcome and reassure you of your safety here. I am called Hymir, and I am the Jarl of Utgard, the village that you now sit beside. Who speaks for you?"
I saw Dyani look at me uncertainly while the rest of the women looked at her. "It's alright, Dyani. Everything will be fine." I called out to her.
That seemed to give her the push she needed to extract herself from the group and slowly and gingerly make her way over to where we were standing. Hymir looked down at her looking up at him apprehensively before he slowly went down to one knee, which brought him down to eye-level with the deer woman. "I can see the fear in your eyes, daughter of the forest, but trust that you are safe here. Drew here has informed me of your great plight and I have decided that you have a home here, should you want it."
Dyani gave me another look before nodding, still hesitant, but willing to take the chance. Brave of her. I don't know if I'd have the strength to do so if I had been in her position.
"Is thankful. Is trusting Drew." She said, making it clear that my endorsement was the only reason she did so.
"You need not worry, Dyani," Takoda said as he came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. "You are not the first ones in need that now calls Utgard it's home. You are safe here."
Dyani looked up at Takoda before turning back to Hymir. "Is true?"
"Oh yes, it wasn't my intention, but over the years those in need that don't fit into society at large has found their way here, in one way or another. It works." Hymir confirmed gently.
Dyani looked thoughtful before finally bobbing her head resolutely. "Will come." She stated before turning to the rest of her kin and raising her hand in the air. "Safe!"
A relieved murmur of voices was her answer and the group started to move as the women started to gather their belongings, making ready to move. Taking his cue Hymir got back onto his feet and raised his voice to be heard over the sudden din.
"If all of you would follow me and Baugi here we will see to your temporary lodgings, where you will stay until better housing can be constructed!" he called before exiting the Jumper. Baugi was already outside and was already moving over the bridge to take a position on the other side.
The Deer Woman quickly exited the Jumper and was directed Hymir to the bridge. Baugi, in turn, was instructing them to gather into a group there. I noticed that the activity had drawn the attention of the rest of the village inhabitants that lived close by and who were now coming out of their houses. I also noticed a small group of creatures emerging from out of the woods.
Much like the Ettin's, they stood roughly eleven feet tall, but this wasn't Ettins, and would never be mistaken for them. From the wast up what they most resembled was a really hairy gorilla, with wide muscular shoulder and thick massive arms that ended in very human-looking hands. Its head wasn't quite as animalistic as a normal gorilla, its skull did not have that distinct shape that gorilla males had, but was more rounded like that of a human, its nose wasn't quite as wide either and its snout was not as pronounced. From the waist down they looked nothing like a gorilla, lacking their short stumpy legs, having, instead, human proportioned legs and feet. Though I noted that their feet looked like they could still be used to grip things. Their coloration seemed to be fairly varied, the leader had fur that was grayish-black, but his two companions were brown and white respectively. All of them were also dressed in primitive-looking leather armor and hides and their fur was marked with what looked like wode, or at least some form of paint. They were all holding primitive-looking tools, like bone knives and stone axes.
Big Foot, or Sasquatch, they had to be. The missing link of human evolution, at least to some conspiracy theorists. I didn't even know they were a thing in this universe. I knew there were Yetis, but those were supposed to be savage killing machines that attacked everything they came across. This group looked more curious than anything, with their leader walking up to Hymir once he spotted him. The Deer Woman gave the newcomers a weary look but pressed on when they noted the lack of concern from the Ettin at their presence.
"Hymir, what is this?" He asked with a rough, slightly inhuman voice, as if his vocal cords weren't quite made for human speech.
"Harry! Good to see you, how goes the hunt?" The Ettin leader said loudly followed by a boisterous slap on the Sasquatch back.
"Poorly. Who are they?" Harry asked briskly.
"Refugees," Hymir answered. "The runt and this little squirt," He gestured to me. "Found them locked up in a cave after they managed to finish off the Beast he was hunting." He informed the sasquatch leader. "The Beast was keeping them as... cattle."
Harry managed to look surprised, which was a feat considering his inhuman face. "So the Beast is dead then?"
Seeing that it was his turn now Takoda quickly produced the beast head and threw it on the ground in front of the newcomers. All of us looked at the severed head for a moment before Harry sucked in a breath before spitting on the ground by the head. "By the Great Earth that is my mother, this is a great day indeed. Long has this beast hunted my people, as it has yours, and now, finally, it has met its end. I must return to the Den and inform the Chief and Shaman. They will want to know this."
Hymir gave him a nod and he and his grupup turned back and quickly moved into the forest, the dense foliage swallowing them up.
"Wow. Never thought I'd see a sasquatch." I said absently.
Hymir laughed lightly. "You will see more of them soon. While most of the troop live in the Den up on Flat Top, some make their home here in the Utgard."
"How many are they?"
Hymir scratched at his beard thoughtfully. "Oh, some two hundred or so, would be my guess."
I whistled slowly. "And how many half-giants?"
"Ettins." Hymir corrected, confirming that this was indeed the settlement that Sigrid and her family had mentioned to me. Fortunate circumstances. "And there are almost three hundred of us living in this village."
I blinked and gave him an incredulous look. "Three hundred. How is that even possible? There can be that many wizards fucking giants!"
Hymir burst into riotous laughter at my outburst. "You would be surprised!" He crowed. "Giant woman finds wizard magic fascinating and will often proposition wizards, and while most do not take them up on the offer, some do. Never ends well for the kid, too small you see, and that is a bad sign in when you are a giant. So they are always abandoned by their mothers or killed. I've kept an ear to the ground for any mention of Ettin children, and have offered them a place here once they are old enough, or take them here directly if they have ended up at an orphanage. It also helps that we live quite long. Me and my wife are almost three hundred and can still have children."
"Wow, that's... that's something." I told him, at loss for words. Turns out, that was a state that was to continue because that was when I spotted something in the corner of my eye.
Basically humanoid. Female. Large. She had cloven hooves instead of feet and her head was vaguely bovine, with two large horns jutting from her head that reminded me of the horns of The Iron Bull, from the Dragon Age Inquisition game. They were almost horizontal until just before the end when they turned sharply upwards. The effect was strangely regal, which was only heightened by the fine white robe with green borders that she was dressed in. Her ears, which were bovine in apperence, were studded with gold rings, as were her nose, and two slim golden chains connected them. She had a vaguely Celtic looking design painted on her forehead. The most notable thing though was that her fur was a metallic gold that shimmered in the evening sun as she moved. She didn't have much in the breasts department, but I did notice that she had a bit of a belly, and there were four destinct bumps on it, which meant that she was probebly sporting a set of udders under that dress.
A Minotaur. But that was imposible. I'd read about those, and they were only supposed to be a story. They didn't exist in real life. Hell, even in the stories there was ever only one, and that had been the product of a curse, supposedly.
"Is that a Minotaur?" I asked Hymir. "How is that even possible?"
"Hmm?" He turned and spotted the bovine humanoid approaching us. "Oh, ah.. no, no. That's not..."
That's as far as he got before the creature reached us. "Grandfather, what is going on?"
"Hello, Audumbla. I see you have noticed our new arrivals." Hymir answers kindly.
"Grandfather!" I exclaimed incredulously.
Hymir sighed tiredly and rubbed at his bald scalp. "Yes, yes, she is my granddaughter. It's quite the tale, but in short, my eldest son had some difficulty in finding female company in his youth and ended up.... opting for an... alternative. It's all very... ahem!"
"Huh... and here I didn't think I could still be surprised anymore," I responded dully.
Really, what else could I say?