The false desert-giant remained vigilant as the eerie stranger approached him and his comrades. Even without physically glancing at the odd giant, Althos' second will activated his "identify" power, targeting the unusual fellow who boldly strode towards the party through the deity's radar.
[Name: Ahmet Savagetooth
Class: Dark-Night
Species: Desert-Giant (Mutant)
Faction: Keeper Of Tradition
Alignment: Lawful-Evil]
Oh no... He really is approaching me, isn't he? The second will realized, upon noticing that the odd fellow's class was listed as a "Dark-Night".
If he's one of those odd unholy knights, then that means he's in service to the powers that be, which in this case... I suppose I should assume he's one of Paimon's servants. Althos realized, recalling the explanation he had received for dark-knights, along with a set of other religious classes, when he first met his dark-elven worshipers, and he began readying himself for a fight even as the giant continued to close the distance between them.
Althos silently readied himself for a fight, as the giant approaching him - Ahmet Savagetooth - closed the distance between himself and the follower of Althos furthest from their odd master, the jackaloid thief, Kuzco. The jackaloid looked up at him, Chillbreeze's eyes filling with curiosity as he studied the odd party, all the while the jackaloid stealthily backed up to be closer to his friends.
The giant that had "snuck up" on the party of newcomers was a tall fellow, standing perhaps 4 meters tall, and covered almost entirely in thick silks and luxurious fabrics that prevented someone from seeing his eerie blue skin. His physique was impressive enough that it was visible even underneath multiple layers of clothing and robes.
The only part of him that was visible underneath his protective clothing were his piercing blue eyes, eyes that greedily drank in every detail of the scurrying jackaloid who tried to get closer to his friends, and every detail of Althos' large back that provided a thick shadow for the rest of the party.
He smirked hungrily at the jackaloid, his mouth moving underneath a head-scarf that prevented outside view of the rows of shark-like teeth that filled his gigantic mouth. Kuzco couldn't see his teeth, but he could sense the predatory meaning of the giant's mysterious expression and reacted fearfully to the display. Althos was aware of this, and in a flash, the deceptive deity turned around to face the creature who filled his companion with fright.
"Enough, stranger." Althos' second will said, opting to speak quietly in the language of the devils so as to prevent this exchange from being noticed by any nearby desert-giants. The voice of the deity was soft, keen, and halting, which was precisely what it caused the desert-giant to do: halt.
So this odd person can speak in the language of the devils!? Ahmet realized with a start, stopping in place as he replayed the words in his head so as to confirm that he heard the false-giant correctly. When he was sure that he had correctly heard the false-giant Ahmet opened his mouth to speak, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed at the pseudo-giant.
"Stranger? Well, friend, I may be a stranger, but not for a second longer! You see, I am Chillbreeze Savagetooth, a friend to any and all newcomers to the great city of Namira." He said boisterously, grinning broadly at Althos. Althos smiled politely back but didn't immediately introduce himself. Instead, he quietly sized up the creature before him. Especially because the information he received via identify didn't quite match how Ahmet introduced himself.
Chillbreeze's body-language was non-threatening, welcoming and warm. This was despite his unusual garb, which was itself apparently not perceived as odd by the other giants around Althos. He noticed this and thought about it for a few seconds. What does it mean that others aren't reacting? I don't sense magic so maybe people are just used to this... oddity. He speculated, before deciding to just go with the flow for now and react to what Ahmet had done.
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"I am Quinn Razorsand. I am a monk from a distant outpost." Althos told the strangely veiled creature who had approached him under the guise of welcoming him to the city. He eyed the figure suspiciously, but his tone was polite enough and the information he had revealed to the creature would match whatever any analysis-skills or items used on him.
"Well-met Quinn!" Chillbreeze said, his voice loud and confident, really making a show of the deity's false name and carrying throughout the plaza. Althos' eyes briefly narrowed in suspicion and for a moment the deity's secondary will had thoughts that were suspicious in nature.
Why did he say that so loudly? Did he just want to alert any of his companions as to the name of my false identity? He pondered, his gaze focused on Chillbreeze. But before he could explore that thought, Chillbreeze opened his mouth to speak again.
"Quinn I must be forthright with you. You see I approached you because you've met a friend of mine. The guard who interacted with you and who let you into the city is a close companion of mine and to make amends for his rudeness he sent me a message asking me to accompany you on a tour throughout this classy city." Chillbreeze said, casually mentioning the awkward encounter the deity had with the uncouth guard earlier in the day.
It's possible that that's a lie. Odds are he's aligned with or even the master of the strange person who watched me earlier. The will saw through the deception quite easily. But in the long run I may learn more by doing this. He thought, shortly before sneaking into the mind of the creature and creating a copy of its memories. And by going along with this farce. For now. He told himself, deciding to lean into the potency of deception by allowing Ahmet to believe he had succeeded.
"Well Chillbreeze... if you're open to guiding my companions and myself through this city, we'll... listen to what you have to say." Althos or rather - Quinn, told the strange giant in a curt, yet polite enough tone. The clothing covering Ahmet's face moved slightly as if to indicate that the creature was smiling underneath the veil of layers he wore.
"Very well! Join me Quinn and I will show you the greatest city in the world." The giant arrogantly told the creature pretending to be one of its kind.
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Althos excused himself and his odd new creature from the company of the hulking devil, after watching the thing work for a few minutes and even aiding it a bit, by providing additional hands who effortlessly lifted the things the devil conjured.
Their labor sped the construction of a wall's foundation and by the time they left far more logs were in place than they had been when the pair arrived at what would one day be a great wall that would surround and protect their burgeoning settlement.
Shortly after walking beyond the wall the pair of odd beings reached the tiny forest that stood between the site of what would become a barrier keeping out the desert, and the tiny chapel that served as Althos' first base. It was an odd, dark row of trees that stood between the fierce desert and the onyx chapel that the party called the dark cathedral.
Upon reaching the trees, Althos and his creation also took their first steps onto verdant green grass, and both of them delighted at the shift in sensations under their feet. They exchanged wordless gazes, and Althos smiled at his creation, while the creature transmitted emotions of curiosity towards its creator.
"It's grass. It's like sand but it's easier for things to grow in it." Althos explained, eager to be able to teach someone something for once.
The pair of odd creatures trekked through the simple forest, really just a handful of rows of trees, and came out the other end quite quickly. And on the other end they saw the true beginnings of their once pathetically tiny settlement, now a lively place of activity and motion.
The dozens of devils, jackaloids, and odd creatures who had joined Althos' rebellion were now hard at work. Off in the distance, straight ahead of the dark chapel, three hulking devils were busy conjuring logs and then moving them into place to form what would soon become identifiable as a gate into the settlement. They were accompanied by a single phalanx devil, who watched them with a curious gaze and aided them when they asked for assistance.
A few hulking devils aided the jackaloids who were hard at work setting up their home next to what they hoped to make into a monastery for their future order of monks. The labor where they were, across from the fungal gardens Althos began making by hand days ago, was hyperactive and all of the parties involved looked to be in a rush, but they also appeared to be enjoying themselves.
Althos contemplated approaching the creatures and interacting with them for a bit but then thought better of it. Instead, he took his creation by the claw and led the thing into his dark temple. The two of them quickly reached the entrance into the temple entered it and found a pew to sit on. Althos looked at his creation, and lightly tapped the thing's circular head. He spoke to his creation with surprising gentleness.
"I think it's time that I sit down and look through the memories I've stored. I have the ability to enter into minds and steal memories, thoughts, knowledge, and secrets. And I've recently decided to... well let me start from the beginning." He explained to the thing, before realizing that it'd be easier for him to just tell the Mi-Go his own personal history.