Trout's Landing.

"What are you doing Jeb?" The Chief asked as he watched Jeb taking some carving tools to a deer skull.

"Oh the usual. Slowly sinkin' further and further into dark insanity. Other than that, I have a lovely wife and some kids on the way!" Jeb replied with dark humor as he continued to carve away at the skull.

The Chief turned his head towards the pile of assorted bones to the side of Jeb. Among the bones of deer were also a growing amount of smaller bones like those of rabbits and small rodents as well as snakes and birds given by the hatchlings that watched Jeb carve strange runes on the bones. There was also fish bones among the growing pile that were intermittently given by the kobolds fishing.

"Humor aside, what IS it you are doing? Is there another of your gatherings?" The Chief asked as he recalled Jeb doing something similar during the gathering of his kin some time back.

"Not to my knowin'. This is, or WAS, more a fun hobby I'd do on occasion. However, that was before I found out that magic is real and that all that talk with my ma about charms and wards and other hoodoo might not have just been fun superstition. So I thought with how things have been lately that a lil extra protection wouldn't be so bad." Jeb replied as he kept his focus on the bonecarving.

"What are those runes you're carving?" The Chief asked as the scratchy runes made his eyes irritated by looking at them for too long.

"Not sure really. Thought maybe my ma taught 'em to me. But I can't really seem to recall when she did. I thought she did but the more I think about it the more it seems like I just always kinda made 'em myself." Jeb replied as he blew off some shavings before continuing his work.

"What do they do then?"

"Protection. At least I'm pretty sure they do." Jeb said as one of the hatchlings grew brave enough to pick up some fish bones and sit next to Jeb and began to carve away.

The Chief watched as a few other hatchlings, and even grown kobolds, started to follow suit. Picking up all manor of bones and skeletons and glancing at Jeb before trying to copy down the scratchy runes. While bone wasn't something they typically used and worked with, stone and wood was better for building and they only used bones for the odd decoration or occasional armor or boiled down into a broth, it wasn't entirely out of their depth to assist Jeb.

Runecarving however? That wasn't something familiar to them as evident by the kobolds focusing more and more on Jeb over time. Something he noticed when he cast his eyes up briefly from his work.

"Don't worry so much about tryin' to copy me. Just let 'em come to you natural like."

While not exactly helpful, the kobolds returned to their work while the Chief watched. Some of them gave up on trying and returned the bones and skulls back to the pile and returned to their work while those that remained continued. Eventually their work began to get more precise and natural. Using their claws instead of tools, they scratched out the runes Jeb was making. The Chief watched as both they and Jeb seemed to move with a sense of purpose as they scratched away the small, almost thumb-sized and sometimes smaller, runes onto the bones.

One of the hatchlings was the first to finish, having carved what appeared to be hundreds of runes so small that only their small claws could carve them along a length of a fish skeleton. The hatchling blinked its scaled eyes like it had been staring at it for hours before shaking its head, blowing a few shavings off, and turned towards Jeb.

"What now Master Jeb?"

"Depends. What does it want you to do with it?" Jeb asked cryptically as he continued his work.

"What?" The hatchling asked, also earning questioning looks from the others.

"Just like the runes. Don't try and copy me and just let it flow and come naturally. Same thing. Do what feels natural." Jeb replied.

The hatchling looked between Jeb and the carved fish skeleton with uncertainty before getting up and walking towards the river with a conflicted look on its snout. When it got close to the river bank it turned back towards Jeb and the others. The Chief and the other kobolds were watching it while Jeb continued his work.

The kobold swallowed and held the fish skeleton in its claws. It took a deep steadying breath before tossing the bones into the river. The kobold flinched, ready for some sort of backlash. Either from Jeb, or an elder kobold, or for doing something wrong with the skeleton. But nothing came. No shouting, no thrashing, no curses or hexes. Nothing. It peeked a scaled eye open and peered at the water. Ripples already washed away from the river currents and it saw the barest remnants of its work sink into the murky water.

It felt... calm. Like there was an assurance of safety now. Like everything would be fine now. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, it thought as it turned back around and made its way over towards the others. But it felt happy at believing in something. Well, Jeb keeping them safe was enough, but it was different. Like the difference between being in a shelter and having someone personally looking out for you.

This felt like the latter. It doubted some carved fish bones would protect it. But it made it feel better. Jeb simply smiled while continuing to work.

"Feel better? I was like that when I made my first wickerman. Felt like I had made my own guardian angel. Course back then I just thought it was somethin' fun. Somethin' reassurin'. But now? They might be just that."

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The kobolds returned to bonecarving with vigor at that. They all saw, or at least knew, the strange creatures of wicker that Jeb summoned to protect them. When the dragon showed up and threatened them as well as the dwarves. So far they've yet to see them again though. Regardless, the kobolds returned to their work, with more than a few others that had formerly given up took the chance to try again.

By the time Jeb had finished his meticulous carving of the deer skull, dozens of other effigies were carved and created. Some were intact fish or snake skeletons kept together by bits of dried river weeds while others were miniature wicker beasts. Squirrels, rats, birds, anything small enough to work their claws with ease were made into macabre, yet comforting, constructs.

Just like the hatchling before, they all followed what the runed effigies asked of them. Some were hung on tree branches by whatever was within reach. Fishing line, twine, reeds, whatever could, and would, be used to hold the constructs together was used to fasten them to whatever was in reach. Others simply had small skulls or sets of skeleton bones, the former were put on sticks and stuck into the ground around the lodge or hung as well while the latter was strung up with a haunting clatter and turned into noisemakers/wind chimes.

With the baleful fires burning on, it gave the lodge an even more haunting appearance that wouldn't look out of place in some sort of spooky Appalachian story. All they were missing is some inbred wildmen and some banjos and they'd be all set, Jeb thought with chuckle as he blew off the last of the bone shavings before getting up and heading towards the sycamore tree that dominated the center of the lodge with the Chief close behind.

"Do they really call to you?" The Chief asked interestingly.

"Sometimes. Maybe I really am goin' mad though. But it's still fun to think about." Jeb replied and placed the carved deer skull just above one of the tunnel entrances to the kobold burrows.

The Chief watched as Jeb blew once more onto the skull, making the runes flash a baleful blue so fast that the Chief could've missed it with a blink of his eyes! He turned towards the others and saw something similar occur as they also finished their carvings, they blew onto the finished effigies and the runes flashed briefly before being carried away.

Could they enchant now thanks to Master Jeb, the Chief thought excitedly at the prospect. While he didn't have an aptitude for enchantment, he knew some of the tribe do, or did, he corrected himself when he remembered he was the only one among them that could do magic. Or perhaps that was no longer the case?

He was tempted to try casting a fireball or even conjuring a shield. But refrained from doing so. While the warmth of the balefire was much welcomed with the increasing cold, he didn't want to risk the chance that the side effect would be too much still. He also wasn't too keen on losing his scales again. It seemed like yesterday he was scratching at the raw flesh that itched as his scales grew back!

Deciding on a compromise between his curiosity and his safety, he decided to test his hand, er claw, at this runecarving of Jeb's! So he left Jeb on his own and hurried towards the pile of bones that had only seemed to grow as others deposited the bones nearby instead of simply discarding them into the river or giving them to the salamanders.

The hungry lizards themselves weren't going to give up being passed over a meal though and several kobolds had to fight mid-carve to keep their hard worked prizes out of a salamander's gullet! Despite their hunger though, the Chief did notice that once one was finished that the salamanders were wary of the effigies and gave annoyed hisses at them before moving onto yet unfinished or yet to be started bones to snack on.

But the Chief was too interested in experimenting to really notice the usual antics of the salamanders. He picked up what appeared to be a small bird skull barely bigger than his own claws. Then he went to work, at first using his claws before borrowing some of Jeb's smaller tools to finish them as he lost himself to his carving.

Then he blinked hard like he had been at this for hours. He peered up at the sun and realized only a few minutes had passed and Jeb remained by the sycamore tunnel fiddling with the deer skull. The Chief looked down and saw his own handy work. The small bird skull was riddled with small runes that at first glance would look like something a predator would inflict on the skull while getting what meat it could off. But the more he focused the more the runes seemed to whisper to him.

His eyes still stung just to look at them. But he could almost feel a sort of compulsion now. A guiding hand of sorts. He turned his gaze towards where the compulsion was pulling him. It was Jeb. Or maybe the Trap Master, he thought as the veteran kobold had walked over towards Jeb and seemed to be talking to him about something.

So the Chief followed the compulsion towards the two of them, their voices getting more clear as he did.

"-n't used to be."

"Well what changed now?" Jeb asked.

"We don't know. But somethings spooked the birds now too and I'm not going to risk my skirmishers until we can find out what it is." The Trap Master explained and turned his eyes towards the Chief as he came over.

He then shuffled forwards and began to tie the skull to the single remaining horn of the Trap Master. Who side-eyed his friend and co-leader.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure to be honest." The Chief replied before blowing some clinging shavings from the skull.

He watched as the runes flared up for barely a second.

"Fascinating!"

"Yes. It is. Anyway, thank you. But we have things to talk about." The Trap Master declared and turned his head back towards Jeb. His new horn ornament swaying with the movement along with the worn feather that had seen better days.

"So what do you want to do exactly?" Jeb asked.

"We should go and investigate. Maybe those 'murlocs' returned."

"Maybe, or maybe somethin' worse." Jeb replied.

Then he sighed.

"Fine. Pack up a couple canoes and we'll go investigate."

"Not going to go by yourself this time?" The Trap Master asked in a teasing tone.

"I mean I could. Just think 'bout it for a second and I'd pop right over there."

"But?"

"But I also still get heavy vertigo if I do it too frequently. That and I'm not sure myself what it could be so just poppin' over might not be a good idea. What if I just appear out of thin air and whatever it is thinks I'm an enemy?" Jeb replied.

"So?" The Trap Master asked.

"So, I'll wait and we'll go when you're ready." Jeb stated with raised hands.

"Good." The Trap Master replied and went to retrieve a few skirmishers.

"What do you think it'll be, Master Jeb?" The Chief asked.

"Who knows. A couple months ago I would've said a bear scavengin' for food or a bobcat. But now? It could be anythin' from your run of the mill wild animal to a fuckin' cyclops!"

"Too forested." The Chief replied.

"What?"

"Cyclops, like all giantkin, prefer hills or mountains to dense forests like this."

"How do you know? You met any?"

"No. I read." The Chief replied simply.

"What, have a compendium of monster know-how somewhere?"

"What I could save when we fled our former home mainly. But most of it is just basic knowledge. Cyclops aren't as big as other giants, and they have the one eye. Living in places where a branch can completely blind them isn't a good idea. They prefer hills or mountains."

"Are they smart?"

"Deceptively so. They and the vagnyr are the only known giants to have developed civilizations of their own."

"Vagnyr?" Jeb asked.

"Half-giants. They live in the far north and south of our world looking after their mammoth herds. A trader that was captured by the master once talked about them with a sense of awe. Said they looked like gods to humans but said that they treated humans like younger siblings. Also mentioned that they didn't fear but welcomed death."

"Let me guess, they die in battle they go to Valhalla?" Jeb asked with a cocked brow.

"Yes! You know of them?"

"Not quite. But we have our own stories here of sorts. Can't quite remember the details myself, or what came from Marvel, but it sounds similar."

"Well yes, the trader said that they see death in battle as the ultimate honor! Even described them as being jovial in combat and cheering at the death of their comrades."

"Sound like fun guys." Jeb replied as the Trap Master returned with some skirmishers as they all headed towards the pier and began to pack up some supplies.

"Oh yes, he did say that any sort of war waged between humans and vagnyr isn't ever treated as war for the half-giants as they see it as a elder sibling play-fighting with a younger sibling. If they win they treat those they conquered quite well, though the trader mentioned they come across as almost patronizing towards humans. Again, like an elder sibling."

"Geez, they do sound fun!" Jeb said with a smile and a chuckle as the chief rambled on about the pseudo-fantasy vikings.

"Ready?" He asked the Trap Master and the skirmishers as they packed their things into the canoes.

"Yes." The Trap Master replied and hopped into the canoe with Jeb while the skirmishers took another to follow behind them.

"Hold down the fort!" Jeb called to the Chief as they started to paddle down the river.