"The creature likes Gorrah" says Krom as the group continues their march "Maybe it will bestow a charm to her, Rhogar." finishes with a smile. "Anyway, charm or not, I'll take that as a sign of good fortune. Right Chill?"

"Perhaps Goddess Tymora may smile upon us." Says Kazri, but one is not sure if she says it in jest or not.

"Indeed, I believe it does portent good fortune Krom." Chill says in response. 

(OOC: Not sure how, but completely missed Pally's post. x_x;)

After studying the elemental a bit, Gorrah gave the impression of a shrug before lowering herself fully for the creature to climb aboard. She would then to the best of her ability try to convey how best to hold on, for soon after the psuedodragon took to the air, though kept low to the ground unless bade otherwise by her new rider.

"Hm? Oh! I see... hm... That explains the feelings of giddiness she was sending out." Rhogar commented, looking back just in time to see the dragon swoop by to and by the group and all but taking point to follow her passanger's earlier directions. "And I s'pose we'll see how things shake out. But, best to keep on keep on keeping on as one traveler once told me."

Kazri approaches Chill and Rhogar, and whispers to them. "Are you able to communicate with the creature?"

"No, they have no speech, no language.  I suppose we could communicate by gestures and the like but that would be the extent.  This Chwinga will stay as long as it wishes and then will leave.  No one is master over them." Chill answers Kazri

He watches as the creature climbs aboard Gorrah who then takes flight.

"We'll enjoy its company while we can.  But let us keep moving.  We have a giant to find and other pressing business as well."

Rhogar had been about to speak, but following Chill's confirmations, he wound up gesturing over to the resident expert. "Odds were that if it had a language anyhow, it would not be one /I/ at least would know, in any case. But as you should well know by now, Lady Kazri, Gorrah has her way of reaching out to others, conveying what gestures and even words may not. So hopefully, that will be enough." He adds, before making ready once more to follow Chill, and by extension Gorrah and her passenger.

The tiny chwinga tentatively climbs onto the back of Gorrah who then gently takes off.  It takes a few moments but the small creature gets used to the ride.  There is no saddle or straps so Gorrah cannot do loops and fly upside down, but with some care she can keep her rider onboard as the party makes their way deeper into the woods.  Almost another hour later you find that the tracks lead to a frozen stream. More tracks intermingle with each other but they all lead to one destination.

The trail culminates at a rocky hillside with pines growing around its base. Set into the hill are three caves. The frozen creek emerges from the west cave, which has a low-hanging mouth. The center cave—an eight-foot-high passage hewn from the rock—is moderately blocked by a tight stand of conifers and two massive fallen logs. The northeast cave has a big, yawning mouth, and flickers of light emanate from within. The tracks of your quarry head through this entrance.

"We have found our giant." says Krom pointing at lights coming from the northeast cave "I wonder if only one giant lives here." The dwarf gestures at the other two caves "Caves like those are rarely abandoned. Still they may all be linked to the main cave where our giant lives."

Krom leans on his hammer keeping his gaze on the flickering lights. "What do you suggest? Do we head straight on for the cave with the lights or do we check the others first? Personally, I think that we should check the other caves. If they are linked to the main cave we may be able to catch our prey by surprise."

"On that, I am in agreement, Master Krom." Rhogar admitted just as Gorrah alighted on a nearby log to rest, if but for a few moments. "If nothing else, we can eliminate any chances of an escape route or other 'residents' being available to it. We will need to be quiet, and-..." He trailed off with a "hum" and idle tapping of his chin. "Another question is... do we split up? I know normally we would let Chill and Gorrah scout things out further first. But between her little passenger and the non-zero chances of more than one giant being about, I am a bit relunctant to follow are usual protocol." He then looks to Chill, and by extension Rekuberk and Kazri. "But what do you all think? Apart from none of us wishing to stand out here in the cold for any longer than necessary."

While the party decides on how to proceed. Kazri checks the area if there are additional tracks, or if their quarry is a lone creature.

Survival: 24

"Clearly the rightmost cave is the one they use.  The stream may be hard to enter and the other is blocked, at least for giants.  Perhaps not for us.  I would be inclined to see if I can enter by the stream and scout ahead or check the area for other entrances."

Chill, the hood of his cloak over his head, moves closer to the stream entrance to get a better look.

Stealth 34

Perception 31

As Gorrah alighted on a nearby log to rest outside the giant's cave the chwinga immediately jumps off her back.  It won't move closer to the caves but doesn't leave either.

Kazri looks around and there are enough distinct tracks to lead her to believe that there are at least 2 giants.

Chill slips closer to the entrance with the stream and looks inside.  His darkvision allows him to see further in. The stream continues and to the north along the frozen stream, the tunnel splits, with one way continuing north and the other veering east. The stream follows the dark northward tunnel. Light from a distant fire is visible in the eastern tunnel.

Map above updated

With a slight worry on her face. “Unfortunately, splitting the party might not be a good idea. It appears that the giant is not alone. I see at the very least another presence.”

"In that case, we stick together." replies Krom as Kazri informs the group of her findings. "As soon as Chill returns we should move." The dwarf looks around as he speaks "I do not like to be here in the open."

"On that point, I would have to agree." Rhogar adds, as he himself took care to at least keep an eye on the rough path Chill went down before the Tabaxi possibly disappeared even from his sight. As for Gorrah, upon hearing that there were multiple giants, she'd look to her former passenger with an inquisitive look, before sending it the generic image of a crate, followed by that of the cave. Then after another moment's thought, she'd send the elemental an image of a mammoth, a forest, and then feelings of inquisitiveness. 

Chill considers going deeper into the cavern to check things out.  In his head he flips a coin.  Heads deeper in, tails back out

Heads 1-10

Tails 11-20

 20

 4.  Deeper in it is.  Carefully moving forward Chill goes to the fork and looks north and east so see what he can see.

Stealth 22

Perception 27

Chill moves in further, his skills at stealth shine as he is silent and unseen.  To the north the frozen stream ends at a frozen pool at the back of a dark cave. 

To the east a natural tunnel bisects a ring-shaped area of excavation.  A giant man is sitting cross-legged in the tunnel, a lit torch on the floor nearby. The giant is sharpening a stone knife.

Chill looks at the creature, trying to recall anything he might know of such a giant. (Intelligence 6)  He then decides that discretion is the better part of valor and its time to leave the cave.  He doesn't want to face the giant alone. 

Carefully making his way back he reports on what he saw.

Stealth 32

Presuming he makes it out without alerting the giant, or anything else

"The stream cavern forks further in and it looks like the right fork connects with the center cavern entrance somehow. There is firelight within that area. The stream itself goes straight north into a dark section of the cave.  I pushed a bit deeper inside and made it to the fork.  To the north the frozen stream ends at a frozen pool at the back of a dark cave. I saw nothing else."

He stops and grins

"Here it gets interesting. To the east a natural tunnel bisects what looks like a ring-shaped area of excavation.  A giant man is sitting cross-legged in the tunnel, a lit torch on the floor nearby. The giant is sharpening a stone knife.  I thought about pulling a Bilbo, but the thought of Krom in a sack stopped me. So I came back out."

Krom listens intently to Chill's report, but he raises an eyebrow when the tabaxi mentions being put in a sack and says "Pulling a Bilbo? Putting me in a sack? I'm not sure to understand you Chill. Maybe the curse has not been fully dispelled...I'll try once more tomorrow morning." 

The dwarf adjusting the grip on his shield and war hammer says to the rest of the group "We have found one of the giants and he is alone for the moment, I say we take care of him before his friend joins him." He taps Moradin's holy symbol with the hammer "And if his friend attempts to join the fray while we are in combat, he will have to cross a wall of fire to reach us."