Orin stayed quiet and let Greyband do the talking.  He wasn't sure anything diplomatic would come out of his mouth when directed toward a giant.

Neuken also continues to hold his tongue, knowing how easily the sarcasm flows through him.

Jarder also keeps his mouth shut, letting calmer minds do the talking.

"We seek to teach the Denagothians to be content with what they already have." says Killian.

"I might add, Your Tallness, that it's rather difficult for those in Wendar to be content ourselves when the drums of war are beating and rumors of invasion drift about on the winds. Wendar would like to be at peace, more time for contentment, contemplation and consideration. Peace would mean less bother to you in this pass as well, would it not? Besides being a nice little road trip of personal discovery and trial, we're headed to Denegoth to see if we cannot... arrange for the drums of war to silence their booming. At least for a generation or so."

The giant stands, his long shadow falling over the gathered company. His club remains where it is, leaning against the throne he occupied, but within arm’s reach. He rubs his jaw thoughtfully. ”Peace, even for a time, would be a boon. I can assist you in reaching Denagoth, free from watchful eyes. But I would ask something in return.”

Greyband nods. "We would be open to such a bargain. What did you have in mind?"

”I will show you a hidden route that will allow you to reach Denagoth undetected. One that will bring you a short distance from the village of Geron.”

The giant eyes the group sternly. ”In return for its use, you will give me your silence. You will not reveal the route’s existence to anyone, including the people of Wendar.”

“What say you?”

Greyband bows. "Let me confer with my companions."

He turns to the others. In a low tone, he says, "What do you all think? I say we go for it."

Killian asked the giant "This hidden route wouldn't have a dragon in it, would it?"

To Greyband and the others in conference "The offer seems too altruistic to me.  What does he gain by letting us through and asking nothing in return, except for our word?  It is a one sided deal in our favor." 

"He'll be left alone. Might not be he's just a reclusive type that enjoys quiet evenings by the fireplace... I'm inclined to accept the terms."

Looking around the halls; "Yep sounds like a good plan...well actually the only real plan anymore. It's not like we have the element of surprise anymore and I don't fancy a fair fight with a Giant.  So yes I am inclined to accept this offer."

"...assuming it's not a trap, of course."

The giant shakes his head. ”The blue wyrm guards the main road into Denagoth. The wide pass that most of Denagoth’s soldiers and raiding parties use when they travel southward. The trail I will show you will not come near it.”

Greyband chuckled at Jayanti's comment. "If this path were free of trouble, would it be so secret? I doubt it. But rather than face a blue dragon in an environs favorable to him, I say we use this path."

He turns to Neuken and Orin. "Wizard? Orin? What say you?"

Very quietly, Neuken says, “I suggest we agree, so that he shows us the supposed secret route.  Then kill him.  If it turns out to be a trap, it will be less likely to work if he’s dead.”

Orin scowled even more deeply at Neuken's plan, if that were even possible.  Ever since they'd been talking with the giant he'd bitten his tongue and kept his deep-set eyes peeled for any signs of deceit from the traditional enemy of the dwarves, especially in his offer to show them the path through the mountains.  But even the skeptical dwarf bristled at the thought of such brazen backstabbing as suggested by the mage.

"I like it not, but I like our other options even less," he grumbled to Greyband.  "Accept the offer but be ready for treachery.  But I'll not ambush the giant after makin' a deal.  Only if he gives cause."

"War makes for strange bedfellows indeed."

Killian raised a single eyebrow at Neuken's suggestion.  It turned into a great feat of facial control because the single eyebrow nearly touched his scalp line.

"Precede as you will, Greyband."
he added finally.

Greyband nods. "Agreed. Neuken, you are not to attack the giant unless he gives us cause. If you initiate the treachery yourself, you will be treated as no better than any other traitor to our party."

He heads back to earshot of the giant. "We agree to your terms. Show us the way."

"...and they say their is no honor among thieves.  I for one will not strike at teh giant unless he gives me cause."

Renia nods in silent agreement with the company’s chosen course, keeping step with the adventurers as they speak to the giant.

The giant nods in response to Greyband’s answer. He moves across the room, pressing his hand to a section of the eastern wall, which prompts it to swing open like a hinged door.

”I mean to hold you to your word,” he rumbles, ”Should I see Wendarian banners approaching my tower from the south in coming days, I and my pets will find you. I wish one thing and one thing only. To be left alone, undisturbed by the world and its troubles.”

The hidden door leads out onto a walkway at the rear of the tower. A low stone wall, waist high on humans, fronts the walkway. The giant, accompanied by his two wolves, steps to the eastern end of the walk and, stooping down, lifts a section of the wall and sets it aside. Beyond the wall, the adventurers can see that the entrance to a cave, high up on a nearby mountain face, is less than five feet away.

”Those that built it kept this as a means of escape, I believe, were their enemies to overwhelm them. I will accompany you as far as the bridge. Once you are across it, you will be in Denagoth.”

The wolves at his heels, the giant crouches down and enters the cavern.

As the group travels Killian speaks in a low voice to Jayanti

Greyband steps in front of the giant. "Hold, now. I did not promise that no enterprising Wendarian would ever find you. I promised that we will not tell, and I will see to it we don't. But don't assume that no human from that side will ever find you again. I promise by the gods of Law, though, that we will not betray your confidence and will do our best to keep your place secret. Fair?"