Joe smiled at that, then chuckled, “Politics, right?”
That got an actual response from the Matriarch, and she barked out a soft laugh, “You… are truly unrepentant of authority.”
Joe laughed, “Hmm… nah. Authority that takes its responsibility seriously… I’m very impressed and respectful of. Authority simply that exists… deserves no respect.”
She smiled quietly at that then nodded, “Then please accept my friendly thanks.”
Joe smiled and nodded, “Of course.”
She nodded at that and Joe waited, but she seemed to be waiting for him. Right… then… the ceremony is done? So… ooh… questions!
“Then, if I may, could I ask some questions? And… could we do so while I clear the line some more?”
The matriarch shook her head, “Please allow some members of my staff to aid you while we speak.”
Joe nodded, glancing back to find another four people helping Toular keep the line at bay. While Joe was grateful, he was nervous to leave his responsibility so turned back to the Matriarch to get this done quickly.
“Alright then. Same questions as before. Strengths? Speed? Agility? Any weaknesses? Fears? Where is its brain? Heart? Any other important bits of information I could have?”
The Matriarch bowed her head and seemed to grimace a bit, “Little is known of the giants. What Toular revealed to you is… much of what we know. They are known for their massive health and incredible strength. Their speed is only truly notable if they are able to continue in a straight line. Not a meaningful fear for fighters, but deadly to cities. If you wish to know of their anatomy, I could call for some butchers.”
Joe paused at that, before nodding quietly, “Maybe… sure. Ask for a butcher who knows of giants, but… give me a second.” Joe turned from the Matriarch and looked towards the four sitting at the stairs. He then paused, turning back to the Matriarch.
“Actually, could we go back to the stairs? Then they don’t have to climb up here where it isn’t safe,” Joe asked while pointing at Garnedell and the others.
The Matriarch nodded, “Certainly.”
Joe replied, “Thanks,” then turned quickly to stride rapidly back to the others.
“Garnedell, can you get me a knif… two knives, please.”
Garnedell looked up at Joe’s statement then nodded, “Yes, Joe.”
Garnedell dug into the bag, searching through it. Joe turned back to the Matriarch.
“Then what about how you normally kill them?”
The Matriarch frowned at that, “Usually, we have nothing to do with them. But when we must, our only option is to fire from afar again and again and hope no one is struck by the giant’s attacks. This is… terrible, as the giant often terrorizes the area around it, destroying everything.”
“That… does not sound like a good way to fight, especially in a city.”
The Matriarch smiled sadly, “Hence the name, city killers.”
“So the city and population are used as distractions.”
She sighed, “In a very real way, yes.”
Joe sighed in reply, frowning and losing himself in thought. Right… so that’s not a real option. Gotta stop him out there, and can’t have it move… so… but it has massive HP, supposedly, so… insta-regen while it has health… so how do I … need to cripple it, so… Ooh… maybe…
“Do you have a magical blacksmith or someone who could make a tool very, very quickly, before the giant attacks us?”
The Matriarch paused at that, then nodded quietly, “A metal working?”
“Yes, but very simple… for its function, but it must be shaped, so likely could only be shaped and prepared quickly enough by magical means.”
She paused in thought, considering carefully, “It might be possible? I am uncertain what you desire or if our crafters are capable of it. I would have to call them.”
“Is that possible? Appropriate? I do not wish to offend.”
The Matriarch smiled, “I will call him here immediately.”
Joe nodded, “Thank you.”
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The two fell silent as Joe thought, the Matriarch simply waiting for Joe and Garnedell coughed softly to catch his attention. Joe looked over at Garnedell.
“What’s up… oh, thanks Garnedell,” Joe stated, taking the two daggers from Garnedell.
Joe took the two daggers, setting his bow down. Kilniara reached out and grabbed it as he set it down and Joe turned to nod to her, “Thank you.”
Joe fiddled with the daggers, then took one and slid the blade shallowly up the back of his left forearm. Joe grimaced as the blade filleted a slim layer of flesh from his arm. It hurt, quite badly, as cuts tended to, but when he let it fall back down onto his arm, sliding it to meet back up appropriately, the pain immediately faded and he saw the edges of his flesh meld back together perfectly, magical regrowth healing it almost perfectly. Oh… forgot … my status.
Joe flipped open his status page and looked at his HP. It had dropped a bit, about a dozen points, no more. Right… need to repeat that… shoulda had my status page open anyway. He once again sliced a small bit of flesh open, this time simply opting for more of a stab and leaving the dagger buried in his flesh to keep it from recovering. His wound didn’t recover, blocked by the dagger still in the wound. He looked at his status and saw his HP dropped by two or three points only. Huh… are shallow wounds worse? Or… He pulled his dagger out and watched the wound rapidly heal, the two edges sealing back together perfectly. His HP loss, at first only one or two points, dropped almost a dozen points when the wound healed and Joe grinned.
Then he grimaced when he realized that he’d have to do another much more painful experiment. This time, he fiddled with both daggers, struggling a bit before he had them held in his hand much like one would hold chopsticks. He pressed both blades to his skin carefully, then pinched them together, scalloping a small scoop of flesh from his body before flicking the small piece of flesh on to the wall. Garnedell reached out and grabbed it, Joe noticed, but he couldn’t afford to really look away, his focus totally on the wound and his current HP. His status dropped about five points with both daggers slicing into his skin, which made sense as one cut of the same size did about two or three points. However, when he dug the flesh out and cut it from his body, his HP dropped immediately by about ten points, then rapidly fell by over a hundred, almost two hundred. His wound, however rapidly repaired as if the damage was never there. Joe’s eyes widened. Where did the mass come from? It just… appeared! Joe rubbed his hand across where the wound was but found it perfectly healed and his health now about two hundred points down.
OK! Expensive to regenerate mass! That… makes sense… the amount of energy needed to create mass… Joe shook his head, disbelieving. The small pinch of flesh he’d cut off was barely more than a small fingernail clipping. But… even … how much power… energy is in just a single HP! That’s… a couple hundred HP regenerating that much mass! Joe boggled at the idea then turned away. Focus! Drain HP pool… so… best way… lop off a limb! Or… filet a good chunk off somewhere and make sure it’s still not attached to regrow… stabs and slices not useful!
So… healing pool… best way to drain is taking off body parts… but... Joe looked out at the massive giant and grimaced. I’m not getting through any bones! He sighed deeply then looked back at his health. He wasn’t happy to drop it by a couple hundred points immediately before a fight, but could only hope that it would recover a bit before the fight. He kept an eye on it, but saw no change as it held steady at where it dropped. Well… that kind of takes care of the up close plan, I guess?
What he needed to do once he was up close was rather easy, so he turned to figuring out all the possible variations that existed in the effort of the monster closing with the city walls and also closing into combat range… at least… my combat range I guess… Once the giant is closer to the walls… Ooh… Joe turned to face the Matriarch as she’d returned.
“Thank you, when the others get… oh, hey,” Joe noticed there were two others standing beside the Matriarch now.
“Oh, apologies. I was busy with my thoughts,” Joe continued.
The Matriarch nodded, “It is of no concern, you are helping us and we are grateful.”
Joe nodded, “Thank you, then… who is the butcher?”
A younger woman stepped forward, “I am a monster butcher.”
“Then, can you tell me any weaknesses of the giants.”
The butcher seemed confused, “I… do not know of any such thing? The beast is … impossible.”
“So its brain or heart is not a weakness?”
“Why is it a weakness?”
Joe blinked, surprised. They don’t know… oh… HP would make it real hard for them to know what kills or not, and if… Joe’s thoughts skittered to a halt as he forced himself back on task. So… nothing … or they’re not going to be able to tell me. Then…
“Thank you. It is helpful, even what little you could offer.”
“I apologize I could offer nothing more.”
“No. It helps me understand my options.”
The butcher backed away at that, and began to walk from the wall. Joe watched her go for a bit, frowning, lost in thought at trying to understand the implications behind the weak understanding of the body. However, he forced himself to leave the thought behind for another time and turned to the blacksmith.
“You are the blacksmith?”
The older white haired man bowed, “I am a Master Smith.”
Joe noticed, quite easily, the capitalized words and bowed, “Then I thank you for your willingness to help.”
The man was quite polite, but poorly hid his grumpiness. He nodded back, “If I am able.”
“Are you able to make several pieces, ready for use in the next ten or twenty minutes, before the giant attacks.”
The blacksmith immediately became apoplectic, “How could one possible create master pieces, let alone several in…”
Joe quickly cut him off, shaking his head, “I do not seek master pieces, nor even good pieces. Only functional. They are simple. I need a slab of iron or steel, sharp on one end, much like an ax or sword blade. It can be thin, no wider than my upper arm, but almost as long as my arm. If my arm is the piece, then my fingers must be sharpened as best as possible and the width must be as thin as a sword blade, yet strong. I need as many as you can make before the giant attacks us. Hopefully…” Joe paused, running the numbers in his head before continuing, “at least six… but preferably ten or twelve, if possible.”
The blacksmith seemed lost, uncertain, so Joe, grasping a new way, explained again, “Something like a flattened nail, about a half a meter long and about the width of my upper arm; the thinner the better.”
The blacksmith considered for a few moments before nodding, asking a dozen or so details which Joe gave before he finally grunted and reluctantly agreed, “It will be trash, and worthless. I do not understand why you would seek such, but it can be done and be done before the giant comes.”
“Thank you. Please prepare it as soon as possible,” Joe bowed to the man.