UNPLEASANT ENCOUNTERS (SITE PLOT THREAD)

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Golgomath the Gurg observed his little patch of the world from a tall rock. He could see some members of his clan passing their time well; several slept, their huge bodies draped uncaring over sharp rocks and branches; others griped at each other and argued over food, some softly, others more loudly. He sighed contentedly, his breath grumbling in his chest. He noticed a couple of youngsters wrestling in the dust and grinned, his brow creasing slyly. He picked up a boulder and lobbed it at them, barely avoiding crushing one of their skulls. They scarpered off to keep fighting, and he laughed.

Golgomath settled down to watch the boundaries of the clan's land, resting his club by his side, his keen eyes scouting mainly for prey. He had had an urge to crush the life out of something all day, and he was getting edgy. Many of the deer and other wildlife of the mountains had learned to avoid the giants' homes, and he dimly cursed the fact that there was just not enough around to kill these days. He reached for his club and idly bashed a tree trunk with it, his muscles itching for more substantial targets.

He caught a whiff of something strange on the breeze, but closer investigation - namely, sitting up a little and looking around - yielded nothing. He sat back, disappointed, and clubbed the boulder he was leaning against. Never enough to kill...

THE DARK LADY

[THE DARK LADY]

"You cannot see what's beyond your reach because you do not have vision," Keira seethed as her newest Dark Army member cowered below her. "It is for that reason you need me - to lead you on the path you cannot yet see. It is on the future that we should dwell most, not the present," she whispered, then slipped her finger under the man's chin and tilted it up, meeting his eyes. She smirked. "You be a good boy while I'm gone," she whispered, placed a slow kiss on his forehead, then turned about, her black cloak whipping the air fiercely as she spun away.

"You too, my love," she whispered in Parseltongue to her snake that lingered around the corner. Keira left the Black Army Headquarters with nothing more than her ambition, a key, her wand, and a gift hidden safely beneath her cloak. It would be essential to the mission she was about to undertake. She apparated on location and, in seconds, found herself at the bottom of a forest-inhabited mountain. And not only were there trees there but things much more gruesome and powerful - "Giants."

The Dark Lady walked up the mountain and felt eyes staring at her. It was lucky one of the Giants didn't rip her head off then and there to protect the Gurg who sat higher up on the mountain. She looked up at him and immediately took out the key - the key that would secure the fact that she belonged there. "Great Golgomath the Gurg, it is a sincere honor to be in your presence," she said immediately, bowing to him before taking a step more. "As I'm sure you're aware, this is the Key of the Mountain - granting its possessor access to this brilliant place you call home. Of course, I can return it to you, being that it is of Giant make. I do, however, request one simple thing in return and that is a bit of your time," Keira concluded, extending the key. She knew that, now that she had engaged the Gurg in conversation, that no other Giant would interfere and kill her on the spot. She also knew that, by possessing that key and returning it to the mountain of which it belonged, she would certainly be granted her request.

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Golgomath the Gurg turned his head in confusion as the strange scent on the wind suddenly grew very clear and close. Human. It smelled magical, and he listened carefully as it - she? He had never been good at discerning the gender of humans - spoke, and held something out to him. He puffed up his great chest as he slowly recognised it, huffing and grunting. The other giants followed his lead, clueless. That was... that looked like... The Key. The one every Gurg had spoken of for a very long time. The stories were varied, but on one thing they all agreed; the key belonged to the Giants, and the thieving, conniving, treacherous wizards had stolen it from them. His puffing reached a peak, and his dull little eyes glowed with rage.

"KEY!!" he bellowed, certain this witch was taunting him, until a thought started to worm its slow, obstacle-ridden path into his mind. The other giants, set to attack, paused to give him the first blow, as was dictated by custom. They waited, snarling, as he tried to comprehend the small logic making its home in his brain, a task made infinitely more difficult with every instinct in his body itching for the kill. The witch was here - kill her - she had the Key - take it from her corpse! - but she was alone - an easy kill, with no nasty people to come find her - and she didn't have her wand out - stop thinking, start smashing! - and it looked like she... like she wanted him to have it? She wants something in return, though - time. She wanted his time. He had time, he supposed. His brain won narrowly against his desire for blood, aided by curiosity, though it took a while.

He stepped down off his boulder and walked towards Keira, his feet shaking the earth as he stepped. The witch still had her hand out, and he took the Key carefully, sniffing and feeling it. It was definitely the Key. He shook his head in confusion and grunted, then tucked it safely into his pants and took a good, long look at the witch before him. Finally, he grunted some commands at the other giants, who relaxed with ill grace and went back to their business. Golgomath turned and sat on a low, flat boulder, watching suspiciously.

[THE DARK LADY]

Keira stood still, waiting for the Gurg to make his decision. Honestly, if the Giants refused to cooperate with her commands, she would simply disapparate and never make an appearance again. She could win a wizarding war without them on her side. However, their loyalty to the Black Army would make their conquer of the wizard world that more solidified. She only wavered slightly in her stance as the Gurg approached her, his large body bobbing around. She ignored the terrorizing pounds that his feet made against the earth as he walked and instead focused on his eyes which, coincidentally, were staring right into her own. She held the key out a little further as he finally came to a halt in front of her. She watched him closely as he examined it, then looked into his face as he seemingly debated whether or not to kill or leave her alive.

She was most certainly glad as he took a seat on a nearby boulder, looking to her in waiting.

"I come to you for your assistance," she remarked, setting a hand on her waist. "I am the Dark Lady and I would like it if your kind pledged its loyalty to my Black Army that will -" she paused, nodding, "- yes, will take over the entire wizarding world and its counterparts, including your lands. I think you would find it much more pleasant for your kind if you simply took my offer of joining the Black Army," she finished, running a hand through her hair. Keira let the Gurg process her words for a moment before beginning once again. "The Order of the Phoenix will come to you with the promise of ensuring your safety so long as you comply with their restrictions of staying out of the oncoming war - my advice for you is to trash the idea of them protecting you from anything. They are a mere number to my army and they certainly are a mere number to your own kind - if anyone could make any promises it would be that your hands could crush their tiny skulls," Keira said, then chuckled."Take my offer and you can do just that - and be rewarded for doing so."

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Golgomath listened, his mouth slightly open as the Dark Lady spoke, his brain trying to keep up, and all the while the other little voice, not as loud as before but still annoying, persisted.

"...take over the entire wizarding world... including your lands... "

Golgomath sat up indignantly and roared, his brow furrowing.

"My land!" he shouted, getting to his feet. She had said more than that, but the homicidal voice in his head didn't care. He broadened his chest and indicated himself vigorously. "MY land!"

He glared at the woman, then the tiniest bit of the rest of what she'd said filtered through, at last.

" ...be rewarded..."

His brow mellowed slightly, and he half-relaxed."...Treasure?" he ventured, his hand raising up to his chin in what would have been a ponderous gesture, had giants not been so dimwitted.

[THE DARK LADY]

Although she should have been more fearful of the Gurg, Keira was far away from afraid. In fact, she knew this meeting was going to go smoothly and did not even anticipate his sudden roaring. Maybe it was because she briefly forgot that his fragile mind couldn't keep up with her words so quickly, but she took a step back. She took a few deep breaths and then settled down with him. She gulped and then nodded, smirking once more. "Yes," she cooed.

Keira took a step forward and grinned. "Join my side, be loyal to the Black Army, and you shall have your land - and, if you help us succeed in winning the war, I will grant you the mountains of the far South where the Muggle villages occupy. Your kind will have much more supply of food and water there and will only solidify your existence....err, Giants live long time in South mountains."

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Golgomath seemed to be losing track of her words again, but then, the last words, enunciated slowly, made sense. He laughed his booming, grating laugh and shook his head. It had been a long time since he had spoken English, and his grasp had never been strong, but it slowly started coming back to him. He struggled to find the words, then managed to order them properly.

"Giants strong," he informed her. "Smash little creatures."

He picked up a huge fallen branch, at least the size of a person, and snapped it in two as easily as if it was a twig. He tossed the pieces over his shoulder casually, and they landed some fifty feet away.

"South mountains mine. Little creatures there, I let them be. Stupid little creatures. You little creature, too."

He was, in his dim way, surprised that Keira was still sitting there, and he was too slow to realise that she could easily defend herself. He pondered this at length, posturing himself in such a way that, he felt, gave the impression of a powerful, cunning leader.

"Little creatures - wi-zards - will stop us. With their sticks."


He briefly indicated a burn scar across his shoulder, an unpleasant reminder of the last time he had gone toe-to-toe with a wizard.

[THE DARK LADY]

Keira listened to the Gurg laugh and she shook her head as he snapped a branch with his hands, trying to intimidate her. It simply wouldn't work. She let him speak, as was respectful, and then took out her wand. "Like this?" she asked, in an attempt, too, to intimidate him. "The little creatures at the South mountains do not have sticks. They cannot stop you," she explained, wondering if he knew that all along or he did actually have a heart within his giant chest. She presumed he didn't, however, from the fierce nature that was the Giant kind.

"Wizards will come - little creatures with sticks will come - to get you to fight against me. If you do not they will leave, but they will be back. If you fight with me against them, I can protect you and your Giants," Keira said, remembering to speak slowly so the Gurg could understand her. "Allies means protection. You will not have to fight for a long while if you agree - but if you agree to be my ally, my friend, you cannot be friends with the other wizards who come to you."

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Golgomath's tiny eyes widened slightly with fear when Keira pulled out her wand, then he listened extra carefully as she spoke. Wonder of wonders, he caught it all in the first go. Fear is a brilliant motivator, after all. He mulled it over briefly, until he realised she was offering him basically what he'd wanted for years; a way to kill, and crush, and smite everything around. He would be careful of her, though, and her ... allies.

He reached his decision quickly.

"Allies," he agreed, a twisted smile spreading across his face. "Little creatures will all die. South Mountains for the Giants."

He threw his head back and laughed again, this time in sheer, evil glee at the prospects ahead. He reached for his club, and stood up to go deal with the pesky vermin living in his South Mountains.