Lehmani nods in agreement with Zubien, then steps forward slightly, adopting a friendly but authoritative tone,  "Jahia, Giantslayer! The town of Frickley sends honored greetings."

Grymar follows along but stays silent, letting the others do the talking, he remains watchful of their surroundings.  He waits to listen to her reply, trying to get a read on Jahia and whether she could truly help.

Insight on her response : 15

Zubien takes on a calm appearance, bowing deeply towards Jahia, his right hand held veritical before his chest.

All - Jahia snorts then her eyes flutter open and she stretches before settling back into her hammock. She raises an eyebrow at you all before saying, "Hullo. Send them mine right back." As she inclines her head in the direction you came from. You see her eyes flicker over to her longsword, then back to you.

As Lore speaks, Lehmani places a friendly hand on her shoulder, granting her Guidance on any attempt to Persuade.

“Yeah, an youkin keepem from gettin squashed by a Giant!  Or at leas tell us how ta go about doin it.”  Grymar speak up in spite of himself, getting excited.  

Lore - Jahia interrupts you with a wave of her hand, "Please..." She sits up and brings her legs over to rest her feet on the ground, arms resting on her legs as she looks over at you between locks of hair that have fallen in front of her face, "Do not call me that." Thunder rumbles overheard and Jahia squints at the sky before sighing and mumbling a curse as she stands and stretches. She walks over and picks up her longsword, strapping it to her belt as she says, "I don't do mercenary work anymore. I'm sorry, but you're on your own." She heads over toward her cottage without looking at you, "Please leave me alone."

Lore/All - Jahia stops on the steps of her cottage, one hand on the banister. You see her shoulders slump and she mutters something to herself. She looks up into the cloudy sky for a moment... Then, she asks over her shoulder "What kind of giant is it?" Jahia listens as you tell her about the giant and all that has happened so far. When you're done she is silent for a moment, staring off into the distance. Absentmindedly, she takes hold of the medallion around her neck, her eyes still unfocused. After a few moments more, she lets the medallion drop and says, "I'll help you." She turns to look at you, her greyish blue eyes searching your face, and adds, "But there's something you should know." She goes on to tell you that the 'legend of the Giantslayer' has become rather exaggerated over the years. She did deliver the killing blow to a rampaging frost giant, but that was with the help of several other adventurers. The creature had also sustained wounds from a previous battle with dwarves. On top of that, she was young at the time and at her physical peak. She says she is nowhere near as strong and skillful as she once was. Jahia crosses her arms and continues, "And that's not even the worst of it." She uncrosses her arms and plants her hands on her hips, before unplanting and crossing them again, clearly uncomfortable with what she has to say. "People have died over this." She waves one hand, indicating the general area and herself, "Me. The stupid legend of the stupid giantslayer. A young girl, with her whole life ahead of her, like you." She looks at you for a moment before continuing, "She wanted to be a hero like Jahia. She and some friends tried taking on a pack of gnolls that had been pestering Triboar." She looks away, eyes wet and holding herself with arms crossed, "They didn't make it." She sniffs and curses as she wipes her eyes with the backs of her hands, "I'm just afraid of more people dying because of that stupid, overblown fairytale. Over me."

Lehmani approaches Jahia, hands clasped respectfully in front of her and adopts her most empathetic, clerical tone… “I hear your pain, friend Jahia. I cannot imagine the responsibility you must feel. When heroic deeds become legend, they often take a life of their own, outgrowing and even abandoning the humble mortal soul at the heart of them. It’s a terrible burden to carry and you have my sympathy for everything you've endured as a result.” 

She gestures to the others. “As for us... We are capable adventurers each in our own right… We do not need a hero. We only need an ally…” She looks to the others to see if they agree. “I, for one, did not come here seeking a legend. I came seeking a humble mortal who once, driven by courage, necessity or pure chance… risked everything to save her people. You are that soul, Jahia. Your reluctance reflects that nobility of spirit. You do us honor by traveling by our side, and would be proud to stand with you to safeguard the town of Frickley."

Zubien nods in agreement. "We seek knowledge and advice, especially from one as experienced as you. Can you perhaps guide us? Myself, a member of the order of the Crescent, have learned from one of my teachers, Master Po to be exact, then even a butterfly touches a pressure point on a human, they could fall. Are giants just larger forms of us? Would they not have the same pressure points that if the right pressure or force is applied, topple them?"

“Or a bee to buzz up his butt and sting him, distract him!  Who knows!  But there musta be some way for us to be gettin the upper hand, the advantage, to nip this in the bud.  Protect those people.  Right?  I’ve got a couple of traps… d’you know they’re weaknessez?”  Grymar digs a bug out of his beard, looks at it, discards it, then looks back to her with a toothy grin.

Lehmani - Your empathy moves Jahia to tears and she sits on the steps to her cottage, sobbing as you speak, decades of hurt and shame flowing from her. When you're done, she wipes her nose and eyes with her sleeve and looks up to you with puffy eyes, "Thank you." She sniffles and stands, "For reminding me who I am. Give me a moment to get my things." Jahia ascends the steps and stops just outside the door. She presses a finger against the side her nose and blows a wad of snot onto the ground, then does the same with the other nostril. She looks back and smiles sheepishly before heading inside.

Zubien - After a few minutes, Jahia exits her cottage clad in a suit of well maintained splint mail with a longsword, shortsword, and heavy crossbow attached. She gathers her hair into a tail behind her head and ties it off as she speaks to you, "Well, I don't know anything about pressure points, but toppling the giant is always a good idea. Pit traps or trip lines to bring it down to our level. They like to stomp, so if we can prevent that, it'd be to our advantage."

Grymar - Jahia sets her foot on a rock as she adjust the straps of her leg armor as she speaks, "Like I said, we definitely want to knock it down and keep it off its feet if we can. Other thing is, these Hill Giants are dumb. Dumb dumb. They can't handle a buncha things comin' at 'em at once. We're gonna want to have multiple groups, each taking turns drawing its attention and keeping it distracted while the other groups whale on it." Satisfied with her straps, Jahia stands and looks herself over, "I'm actually surprised this still fits." She draws her longsword and performs a few smoothly executed slashes and stances before nodding and sheathing the blade. "Also, we've gotta keep it away from town. I haven't been to Frickey in ages but there used to be a field with a Windmill in it, 'Windmill field' or something like that if you can believe it. Anyway, it's a good distance from town with open sight lines in every direction. As good a place as any for a fight with a giant."

(DM: What time is it at this point? Would we return to Frickley before nightfall?"

Lehmani looks to Jahia and the others, "What say you all? Should we return to the village as quickly as we can or rest first to gather our strength?"

Lehmani - Jahia nods and says, "I'm ready to head out, but he doesn't look so good." She nods in Zubien's direction. "Probably doesn't matter much if we leave now or in a hour, the storm'll catch us either way." Jahia looks at the cloudy sky and holds out a hand, testing for rain drops.

It is roughly 5pm. As long as there are no lengthy diversions, leaving now would get you back around sunset, though the storm will likely cause premature darkness/reduced visibility.

Zubien states he can travel. "Perhaps it is better we can get there as soon as possible, so we plan a defense." He then turns to Jahia and asks, "Calthrops, could we build a bunch of calthrops, perhaps the blacksmith can make some. Then with pit traps, trip lines and a knockout draught we have the herbs for, can give us an advantage over the giant."

“I have some caltrops, and a couple of traps.  Now - luring it to Windmill field, that’s the kicker, iddnit?  Is there a path from where it came to the field?  Lay out some pies perhaps, get the big dolt to wander into the field looking for his food.  Maybe a sign in big letters to point the goon thattaways… Hmm….”  Grymar, makes ready, straightening his pack.  “I’m ready to go, might lika quick rest when we get back.  Up to youuns.”  

All - You set forth on your return to Frickley with Jahia Giantslayer as the skies continue to darken and thunder booms in the distance. Blessedly, you're able to clamber down Weeping Rock before the rain starts and no more harpies harass you as you go. The rain starts a short while after you enter the forest again, pattering on the leaves at first, then coming down in earnest. The trees overhead still provide some protection, but after an hour of so you are all drenched nonetheless. The journey back to Frickley is proving uneventful but for the occasional lightning strike and impressively loud thunder boom. You have time to interact with one another and Jahia as you go, so if there are any burning questions you'd like to ask of each other or Jahia, or continued planning for the inevitable giant encounter, feel free to do so. Otherwise, I'll advance the narrative either later tonight or tomorrow some time.

As the party walks, Lehmani keeps pace with Jahia. "You've built a fine home for yourself here in the outskirts... so far removed from the demands of town life. Nothing but wildlife and the cleansing elements... I'm very sorry we had to be the ones to break your seclusion." 

Continuing their walk, Lehmani's eyes move to a flowing stream of water created from the downpour of rain. She gently keeps her focus there as she questions Jahia. "If it's not too bold to ask, how do you spend your idle time out here on your own? What brings you joy in the depths of your isolation?"

As the party moves, Zubien keeps an eye and ear out the surroundings, making sure there are no threats that could be lurking in the rain and dim light (Perception: 5)

As they are walking back, Grymar pauses for a second, seeing a perfect sized branch that has fallen along the trail, he wishes to make a nice walking stick.  He uses his dagger to carve away the ends to it, pleased with the stout and sturdy wood.  He feels stronger, whistling a little tune as he carves, making little hexagonal marks in the wood as grips, making it look like honeycomb.  As he swings to stick around, he focuses on it and finds that this sticks smacks harder and somehow stronger than even his war hammer, he seems to be able to imbue it with a strange energy.  He casts shillelagh on the walking stick, pleased with the glowing end and how good it feels in his hands.  

He also learns that he has another new power as they are walking.  After listening intently to a beetle he had in his pocket, almost as if it was speaking to him, he starts to make strange sounds sucking his teeth, a strange chittering sound in his mouth and points his hand to the side of the trail.  A cloud of mites, fleas and parasites, flows out of his hand as he casts and tests infestation.  He seems so pleased with the result that he laughs out loud, saying “That’ll come in handy, yessiree, bugs and beezz all up in his britches.. heh!”  Pleased with himself, he walks along mumbling, mainly listening to the others.