"Well, let's get the obvious ones out first. I am going." He chuckled, saying that as he continued, "Now the rest ten would be, Ikami," she knew she was going to be one of them as she sighed, knowing all too well as she just walked away to pack her bags.
"Tumo, Pyotr, Duke, Izen, Carus..." As Jack continued naming them one at a time, the more names were announced, the more people were confused. They assumed Jack would just take the 10 humans and leave, but he was taking Carus with him for some reason. But that also means he was leaving behind one person—that person being the runesmith. For two reasons: first, he needed the guy to study his runes more, and second, he had a job that only he could do.
As Jack finished, Carus and the old chief looked at Jack with a rather uncertain look. Carus was more than happy to go, honestly, but what about the village while he was gone? But before Carus himself could speak up, the old chief spoke up first. "I suggest you leave Carus here, Lord Jack. I speak as an old chief, not as his father."
"And why is that?" Jack was intrigued, knowing full well that the old man was one with experience, so he probably had a reason why he was saying what he was.
The old chief simply sighed at Jack's question. He honestly didn't want to talk about this, but there was not a lot of choice left anymore. "I would like to talk about this in private then, with the Lord and Carus."
"Hmm, very well then," he said. Since everyone was busy packing already, he declared the meeting over. He then followed the chief, along with Carus, to the nearby building where the village meetings used to be held. As they all sat down, the chief ordered one of the maids to bring them lunch and wine as he sighed. "I suggest you make yourself comfortable, my lord; it's a long story."
Carus grew more worried after hearing his father's words, but Jack just nodded and sat in his own tiny seat, which he had custom-made for himself. As the food came, the old chief took the bottle of wine and gulped the whole thing down without speaking. "I apologize, but it's hard to let the truth out normally sometimes."
"I get it." Jack simply said this as he waited for the chief to start. And so the old man finally began talking.
"The reason I have always told Carus not to leave the village goes far beyond just the forest itself. But first, I must confess to something."
The old chief, not being the strong man he always was, spoke in a weak tone, his voice almost crumbling. "Son, there was no wolf attack on the village years ago; your mother did not die from a wolf. She was killed."
Carus' face dropped as soon as he heard his father's words. There was anger on his face and a tinge of sadness too, maybe from the fact that his father had lied to him all these years. Meanwhile, Jack had no interest in getting involved in this family melodrama, so he stayed quiet.
Carus also remained silent, not knowing how to react as the old man spoke. "I am sorry for lying to you all these years, but I wanted to protect you. I know better than to make you go for revenge... Blood for blood won't end a war. I learned the hard way," the old man said, pinching in the middle of his eyes.
"There used to be three kinds of giants that occupied this island. The ice giants, the forest giants, and the fire giants. The races lived peacefully among themselves until one day—"he was cut off by Jack.
"The fire nation attacked?" Jack asked, knowing this was not a good time to make jokes, but he couldn't let this opportunity go.
"I am afraid, not my lord," the old chief responded in a serious tone, not knowing what Jack meant but just taking it as a guess.
"There used to be a balance of respect and power among the three giants. This island is almost in the shape of a triangle, with the three corners each being occupied by one giant race. The north by ice, east by forest and west by fire.
The ice giants could be considered the more intellectual ones out of all three races; they almost always avoided conflict. The forest giants were known for their relation to nature and their ability to preserve things, and the fire giants were known for their innate talent for blacksmithing.
At the center of the island, there used to be a temple atop Mount Ruthras, where the three giant races prayed to the god they worshiped, that being Ruthras, the god of giants and blacksmithing."
Upon hearing those words, Jack's ears perked up. He already knew who Ruthras was—better than anyone. He had spent six months with one of the direct disciples of the guy, but he decided not to point it out and just kept listening quietly.