Giants in the Earth
Although not the Coop's primary method earning money, the nomadic community and some of its members do occasionally offer their services as escorts for merchants and travellers. In this capacity, they act as both guides and bodyguards. Two years ago, a mechant caravan hired the Coop's services for protection through the Western Mountains to Ooda. The Coop supplied four people and one vehicle. You were one of the four.
Apart from a couple minor rockfalls that required some adjusted routes, the trip to Ooda went smoothly and uneventfully. After you left the merchants, you relaxed for a short while in Ooda. During that time, a woman named Onnya Sokolo approached your group. She was travelling alone and asked if she could accompany you back to Ardan.
The five of you set out the next day, but this trip did not go nearly as smoothly. First, one of the frequent earthquakes in the Western Mountains caused a rock fall that smashed your vehicle. Continuing on by foot, you next had to deal with repeated attacks by carrins and blood birds. They killed two of your fellow travellers before you escaped them.
Then something truly terrifying happened. There was a rumbling beneath the earth. Fearing another earthquake, the three of you sought a safe place. As you ran, your last fellow Coop member cried out. As you and Onnya watched in horror, the ground rose up around him, grabbed hold of him, and pulled him down below. It was all over in a second or two, and the rumbling stopped. When you examined the spot of your companion's disappearance, there was no evidence that the ground had ever been disturbed at all.
You and Onnya then grudgingly continued on. You reached Ardan a few days later and rejoined the Coop. After this event and a disastrous expedition into the desert a year later (see Desert Winds), the Coop has started re-evaluating whether it will continue to offer such escort services. Onnya, however, is determined that they will offer at least one more: an escort for the musicians who will perform at her upcoming wedding to Jamal Aram.
Your opinion on the matter is up to you.
