Part 10: Frost Giants Are All About Alliteration

Chapter 10: Frost Giants Are All About Alliteration


Nuts, the sheriff wasn’t kidding when he said the pass was blocked. Looks like an avalanche/rock fall came through last night. I guess I’m stuck here for the time being.


Directions: Two east of the town exit. The fox will only appear the second time you visit this screen.

Aw, looks like you got caught in a bear trap, poor fella.
While I appreciate the sympathy, would you mind helping me out of this?
Hey, you talk! We’ve got a couple talking animals back home, but you’re the first talking fox I’ve ever seen. Are you as wily as they say?
I’d love to compare notes, but the crippling pain seems to be slowing my thoughts, so would you please first HELP ME!
Oh, right, sorry!


*You spring the trap.*

THANK you. *ahem.* In exchange for your kindness, I will give you some advice and a bit of information. First of all, it sometimes pays off to be polite, even to rude people. As for the amusing tidbit—Baba Yaga put an enchantment on the Baron’s daughter some years back. To break the spell you need to talk to the dryad. Au revoir, ta-ta for now, be seeing you.


You know, that was the first purely good deed I think I’ve ever done as an adventurer. It was okay, I guess. I still love robbing people, though.


Directions: Three screens east of the Healer.



Far from the frost field,
fares forth this fighter;
Hunger has hurled me
hither from home.

My name is known
in the Northlands as Brauggi;
Barter with blade’s clash,
or bargain with me.
Oh, um, hello there. Frost giant, right? So what brings you this far south?

Hollow my food house,
for my hunt has been hindered,
By having to hurry
here from my home.
Right, but what brings you here? Is there something you need?

Find me some fruit
for to mellow my mead horn,
Gift I will give
of a gem that now glows—

Jewel from Jotunheim,
flare of the frost flame;
Fetch to me fruit that will
fill up my fists!


…Those are some pretty big fists. Any requests for what kind of fruit?

Highpoint of harvest,
the finest of flavor:
Apples or oranges,
peaches or pears.
I’ll get right on it.

Please note that, in spite of what he says, you cannot fight the giant for his gem, even with a maxed out fighter. If you were to try, you would get knocked down by around 10 health, and then:




You can also try Flame Dart, though that doesn’t go well either:




This is Bruno. Bruno hates you, but he’s at least polite enough to be passive-aggressive about it. He can usually be found here at around midday after day 2.

_{Sure hope the centaur will still talk to me} Oh hey, I haven’t seen you around before. Who are you?
What’s in it for me? If ya gots a silver, I might be willing to tell ya something.
Um, sure, have two. So what can you tell me?
Call me Bruno. So whadda ya wanna know?
Well, do you have any info on the whole curse thing? I’ve got some ideas on what to do if I find the baron’s daughter, but I don’t really know what to do about his son or Baba Yaga.
Baba Yaga? She’s an ugly hag who lives in a weird house who knows some magic. Her place is due west of the Baron’s place. Can’t miss it. And for two gold, I’ll tell ya how to get into her hut.
Two gold? Heck, I can pay that.
I was creeping around the western forest one day when I heard the old hag shout “Hut of brown, now sit down!” I figure that’s what she says to get it to open up.
Awesome, thanks for the info. Say, you wouldn’t happen to be a thief, would you? *Makes thief sign.*
*Bruno nods and makes the countersign.*
Ya need ta talk to Sneak about the password. Ya can find him in the alley at night. Oh, and they hide the guild in the graveyard. It’s under one of the tombstones. You can see the thieves if you go there at night.
What? But it’s in the bar! Heck, I’m even licensed already! I’m beginning to think that I can’t trust you.
Heh. You think whatever you want, mac. Oh, and if you want a good time, try the Dragon’s Breath!

It hardly needs to be said, but if you try to attack Bruno:






Hi, Hilde. Are you still selling apples by the handful?
Oh, ja. You’d like some?
Well, let’s say I have big hands. I mean, really, really big hands. How many apples do you think would fit, and could I get them all for one silver?
No, I am sorry. When I am saying a handful of apples, I mean about ten. They are quite small, as you can see.
Well, it was worth a shot. Give me, oh, fifty apples. My friend’s hands are still pretty big.


On the way back, we meet a goblin.


The goblin is the intermediate daytime monster; basically a more easily killed version of the brigand. Between the saurus, the goblin, and the brigand, we have now seen all the random monsters that can be encountered during the day.


Nice doing business with you.


The new items are the thief’s toolkit, a thief license, rocks, the gem, and the acorn.

I wonder how much a glowing gem will get me from the fence?