Edmar glared at Roy, who was unhelpfully glaring back.
"I thought you were supposed to be the expert about all this," The Commodore's son complained quietly.
"The giants were supposed to have gone extinct a long time ago. How was I to know they escaped our world and moved here?" Roy's voice held no love for Edmar.
"Where's Tamas? Maybe he could help," Edmar leaned closer to avoid the very large ears of their indomitable hosts.
"Tamas cannot come to this world unless there are native beings here willing to serve and follow." Roy seemed irritated. "As the giants have now lived here for many hundreds of years and have claimed this world as their own, they should qualify."
"So we have to convince them to serve Tamas? What could he even offer them?" Edmar was growing frustrated with Roy's excuses. Tamas had promised him power, authority, the ability to rule his entire world, and riches from many others.
Yet he couldn't even come here until they established some sort of cult among the giants?
"Power. Resources. Perhaps this world does not have enough to satisfy their appetites," Roy sounded dubious underneath his signature monotone.
"And why do I have to be the one to convince them?" Edmar asked.
"You have yet to accomplish anything on Tamas's behalf. Strengthen your allegiance to him by demonstrating it now," Roy urged.
"Yet to accomplish anything?" Edmar muttered. "I got us this far, didn't I?"
Roy did not respond, but a biting reply lay underneath his silence.
The two were currently in an animal pen, with all of Edmar's Cetoan crewmen who yet remained alive.
The Commodore's son took stock of them. A third lost before they even arrived in this world. Another third fallen in the chasm between land and sea. A dozen or more nabbed by mysterious predators in the jungle, and several poisoned by thorny plants. One fell into one of the large holes they discovered along the way.
Barely a hundred still with him now, and those seemingly about to dwindle.
The giants were hungry.
"What else can you tell me about them?" Edmar desperately whispered to Roy.
"It is said that, like the halflings, they were once human. The Sorcerer punished them for thinking too much of themselves by growing them to the size of their pride. They all starved to death, unable to keep themselves fed… or so we were told." Roy cut a glance at the enormous beings.
"Are you sure these are the same creatures?" The Commodore's son asked.
"How can I be sure? I've never seen them before, and every time they talk my ears are liable to bleed out." Roy rolled his eyes.
"Hmph." Edmar was irritated by Roy's lack of helpfulness. He'd made himself out to be some all-knowing thing. Turns out that wasn't true at all in this new world.
Right now two of the giants were sitting nearby playing some kind of game, gambling by tossing tree trunks into a clearing. Apparently how they landed had some impact on the outcome, and every now and then one or the other would roar with triumph or laughter, shaking the ground underneath them.
The men covered their ears in pain every time that happened.
No one had expected this world to be occupied like this. When Edmar described the gargoyles to Tamas, they both assumed those were the most intelligent creatures in this world.
On land, they expected to find the herbs and items necessary to go between this world, Edmar's, and the Darkness. Roy had the herbs to make the portal, but hesitated to use up the portal-maker just yet.
The original plan had been to find the inhabitants of this world, if any, and if not, then to leave Edmar's men there to establish a settlement. If they renounced their world, claimed this one as their own, and kidnapped women to breed generations of Void-followers, then Tamas would be able to gain a foothold here and build power.
In return, Tamas promised Edmar the right to rule his own world, in its entirety. Step one was ruling the Cetoans, and from there, to conquer their allies and take over everything.
From the mountains, to the desert, to the sea, Edmar would be king of all. It was an appealing prospect, and Tamas's magic had already proved useful in several situations.
He wished Roy would make use of it now for their benefit, but it seemed the halfling had other ideas.
Edmar twisted his mouth, considering how to even initiate conversation with the giants. Before he could, the footsteps of a third enormous being rattoed the ground.
"How many are there?" Edmar wondered aloud.
"Why do you expect me to know that? I just told you I didn't even know they existed until we encountered them," Roy's patience was clearly nearing its end.
"I wasn't talking to you," The Commodore's son snapped. "I was thinking out loud."
"You'll have to be much louder than that to get their attention," Roy pointed to the new giant, a female by appearance, and then covered his ears as she opened her mouth to speak to the other two.
"Gambling again?" It was difficult to parse emotion out when her voice was almost ear-splitting with its volume, but Edmar guessed she must be annoyed. "What are the stakes this time?"
The giant who appeared to be younger, by virtue of having no beard, pointed towards the pen where the humans and halfling were held.
"Them." He said simply.
"What are those?" The female giant squatted down and bent forward to examine the Cetoans. Edmar glanced over his shoulder at his men.
To their credit, aside from one or two flinches, they stood without showing fear. Edmar saw his opportunity, and shouted, though he couldn't come near matching the volume of any of the humanoid beings before him.
"We are men! Cetoans! I have come to negotiate with you on behalf of one called Tamas!" He put all of the force in his body behind the shout.
The men showed mild confusion about his declaration, and one or two stepped away from him. Edmar glared at them for a moment before turning back to the giantess.
"Sorry, what? You'll have to speak up." The enormous woman tilted her head and turned to the males with her. "Where did you find these little things? Are they intelligent?"
"I don't think so. Did one of them talk to you just now?" The older male puzzled.
"I thought he might be trying…" She reached one of her great, strong arms forward and snatched Edmar before he could react or draw his sword.
He wondered if his sword would even be able to pierce her thick skin if he struck her with it.
He put on his most dazzling smile. If traditional weapons were useless, his charm would have to do the trick. She wasn't a beautiful woman, marked by hundreds of small pockmarked scars, and in his experience ugly women were the most susceptible to his charisma.
"HELLO! WE ARE INTELLIGENT, DESPITE OUR SIZE. I AM EDMAR OF CETO!" His yelling seemed at odds with his demeanor, but if the giants truly could not hear him without screaming, it was necessary.
She eyed him warily, then looked down to where many of the Cetoans had their ears covered against the boom of the giant's voices.
"Are we hurting your ears?" She whispered now, though her voice was still far louder than a normal conversational volume.
"You were, thank you for your consideration!" Edmar yelled.
"You don't actually need to yell, Edward. My ears can hear you well." She whispered. "I was teasing you before, your voice is so adorably tiny."
Edmar maintained his smile, with effort. He did not like being mocked. If her hearing was actually good, then she knew his name and was continuing to demean him. One top of that, being held in her fist was not particularly dignified.
"And what may I call you, fair lady?" He managed to keep the strain from his voice. He still spoke loudly, but did not yell anymore.
"I am Jarnsaxa," She whispered with a calculating look. "My husband, Awarnach, and our son, Hugi," She waved at the males with her. "What brings you to this place?"
Edmar hated repeating himself, but he put up a charming facade before he addressed her again.
"I have come to speak to you of one named Tamas! He can offer you much, in exchange for your loyalty and fealty." He tried to announce this with pride.
"Is he the same size as you, little Edmund? I don't see what he could offer us in such a case."
"He is powerful indeed. Size is not always an indicator of one's value," Edmar couldn't quite keep the edge out of his voice at being misnamed and demeaned again.
"Oh, is it not? Perhaps that is an indictment of my value. I fear I must take offense. We, you see, were made quite large by the Sorcerer because we are worth so much! You, small Edgar, were obviously left of diminutive stature. And look," She continued, pointing to his men, "Some of your people are even smaller! I'm sorry, but you're not worth our time, except perhaps as a snack."