The war-band turns back into the wind, leaving the cairn behind. Druk leads at the front, the pact gift now resting with the giants as a settled promise.
Bruk
Two more terms, and they are not small ones. They want iron rims for the sled wheels, and hooks for the meat racks.
Roggo
Hooks are easy. Rims take more forge time, but they save wear. Better than mending broken carts later.
Bruk walks with a careful, businesslike stride, as if he can already see the supply ledgers in his head. Roggo keeps pace, pleased to talk shop instead of battle.
Bruk
If the ogre lord keeps bargains like this, the pass stays calm. That is worth more than a bloody win.
Druk
The iron list is manageable.
Roggo
We can split the work, smiths on rims, runners on hooks. The cairn meeting gives us time to finish both.
The column crests a low rise, and Worr Croa waits ahead in the stone fold of the mountains. For a moment, the march feels less like a return from war and more like the start of a profitable routine.
✓ Quest Accepted
Forge iron rims for the sled wheels
✓ Quest Accepted
Forge hooks for the meat racks
“I pull out a pipe a smoke a little as we march back, once were far”
Once the ridge drops away behind him, Druk takes out his pipe and lights it. The march keeps its easy rhythm, wind tugging the smoke thin as the war-band heads for home.
“I tell roggo, we wont have to worry about troops going missing as much, those wind following giants are smarter, more cunning then the common giants”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
The road unspools under the plateau wind, and Druk lets the pipe glow between his fingers while the talk turns to what the pact buys them.
Druk
We do not have to worry as much about troops going missing. Those wind-following giants are smarter, more cunning than the common giants.
Roggo
Aye. Smarter foes leave fewer clean battles, but better bargains too. They watch roads, slopes, and habits, not just meat and fists.
Bruk
That is why the pass stays quieter with them named in it. A clever giant prefers leverage to waste.
Roggo gives a slow nod, already thinking of ledgers, iron, and where to hang the finished goods once the smiths are done.
Roggo
If their kind values craft and foresight, then the rims and hooks are not tribute. They are proof that Worr Croa keeps its word.
Bruk snorts a little laugh, and the three of them keep walking in step as the smoke thins above Druk’s shoulder.
Bruk
Then let the forge answer for you. At the cairn, they will measure that answer carefully.
“I relax and keep talking and marching”
The march settles into an easy rhythm, boots brushing the grass while the wind combs through the plateau.
Roggo
Good roads are made twice, once with iron, once with trust. This pact gives both.
Bruk
And it gives your smiths a mark to aim for. A promise is lighter to carry when the work is plain.
“I continue marching”
Druk keeps pace without breaking stride, the plateau falling away behind him as the wind presses at his cloak and the path rolls on toward Worr Croa.