“A most exquisite idea.”  Sheltered nooks were his favorite kind.

Backtracking a short distance, the company locates a overhang on the left side of the road, which provides shelter and concealment from the tower. Jarder and Renia, meanwhile, press ahead, keeping to the long shadows cast by the tall formations that flank the pathway.

Drawing closer, the two can see that the gate that leads into the tower’s interior is open. What they can see of the interior appears neat and well maintained, but there is no heraldry within that would suggest allegiance to Denagoth. The walls are barren, the stone floors covered with rugs patterned in the fashion of the Ethengar Khanate to the south. The ceiling of the corridor is quite high. The entrance hall is short, extending only twenty feet into the interior before turning to the right.

As the pair watch, two large gray wolves come into view on the roof of the tower, joined a moment later by the imposing figure of a giant who stands almost twenty feet tall. He is clad in a tunic the color of the night sky and his skin and hair are ghostly white. He pauses to look over the road that approaches his home, but apparently seeing nothing that alarms him, he retreats from view, along with the wolves.

Greyband offers to take the middle watch as the party rests and waits for the scouts to return.

Patch settled in after doing a bit of scavenging for some further shelter in the form of stones and wood to break the chill wind. He hunkered down with his porcine mount on one side and his quick shelter on the other and waited for his companions to return from their recon.

"I'll take first watch Greyband, we may not be here long, hopefully yonder tower is warm and the ovens are full of apple pastries... perhaps there will be a game table and some spiced drink..."

The cleric passed the time by considering the wording of a classic rhyme, which may well have been to the delight of the God of Riddles.

As he has no need to memorize spells, Neuken offers to take the second watch.

After scouting the tower Jarder returns and explains what they saw.  "I think we can get in quite easily, my only concern is the giant.  We should have the element of surprise in this attack."

"Hmmm...mmm.mmmm..mmm..." Patch was trying not to shiver. His thin body didn't have any extra flesh to help keep him warm.

"Do you believe the giant is hostile toward us? Making an ally would be very helpful to our cause, keeping this pass controlled would be a great boon..."

"But we need to get through, and I really don't prefer spending the night out here if we don't have to."

"Giant?  This area has a Giant and a Dragon in it?  This place has been reclaimed by Chaos.  Is there no other way around?"

Killian looked to Renia "What is this tower?"

“I’m confident we can take the giant down.  If we do that, we’ll have no need to concern ourselves about whether or not we can trust him.”  And besides, killing giants was fun.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:37, Thu 05 Sept 2019.

Killian laughed "Easy for you to say, Robed One! You aren't the one that has to get within smashing distance of his club!"

"We can defeat the Giant, this I am confident in, but there is risk of losing one or more of our number in a battle that we may be able to avoid.  Our mission is to save a nation, not clear out ever monster we come across."

"Is the giant working for the enemy? Or is he -pardon the pun- above human affairs?"

"Only one way to find out... Let's just go ask him. Maybe he can be bargained with. If not, then... we'll need to figure out how to persuade him."

Patch was shivering in the cold despite the shelter he'd constructed.

"What do you think J.D.?" Patch asked his hog. The swine looked up at him, munching on a bit of some plant which had apparently struggled to survive harsh mountain conditions just for the purpose of becoming pig-feed, but said nothing.

Orin had remained quiet while the group talked about the giant and how to approach him.  His face had grown scrunchier as time went on, and his cheeks grew red enough to notice through his whiskers.  Finally he couldn't bottle it up anymore.

"You can't trust a giant!" he stated emphatically, waving away any such thought with animated hands.  "They're lyin' thievin' scoundrels, every last one.  Bargain all you want, but my hammer will be in hand the whole time.  So help me by the Lord of the Mountain."

It was an uncharacteristic outburst but clearly the old dwarf was passionate when it came to people taller than Greyband.

”I have never traveled this road before,” Renia admits. ”The tower is not like the stonework of the Wendarians and to my eyes, it does not appear to be dwarven craftsmanship. I would guess that it is an ancient structure, built before any of the kingdoms that now stand. One that the giant found and took for a home.”

“I saw no Denagothian colors or heraldry. At least, not at the entrance. So it is possible that the giant is aligned with no one. Few venture down this path. Perhaps the creature merely sought solitude.”

"Ah, solitude... certainly cannot blame him! Though the wind up here would get a little old." Patch's long, wispy beard floated gently in the chill breeze.

"I doubt we've much in the way of gifts, so we'll not impress him that way... perhaps some entertainment? Must get lonely up here with only flesh-rending wolves as companions..."

OOC: I vote for the ask-first-kill-later approach.

"The very moment that fellow sees a Dwarf in our party, there's no chance at parley, that's obvious," the Elf muses.

"Is there a safe way around that castle where hopefully the wolves won't track us?"

Remiss shakes her head. ”The only way past would be over the tall rocks to either side of the tower. Such a climb could be undertaken, but it would likely require a great deal of time and would likely prove quite treacherous.”

“We could circle back and venture north through the dragon’s territory.”

"Rather giant and some pet wolves than a dragon... but I'm not remembering very many stories about the riches to be found in a giant's horde..."

"I'm getting cold. Let's head up there and see what the giant has for supper."

"I can create a magical veil to cover Oran from sight" offered Killian "Assuming we would rather negotiate with the giant rather than slay him?"

Killian, irritating as it was, always tried to look at problems from all sides "Though if we negotiate we surrender the chance to surprise the Giant."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:00, Fri 06 Sept 2019.

Greyband, who has been listening stolidly to this, shakes his head. "I don't like it. Negotiating with a giant sounds like a good way to become target practice for the giant, or a hunt for his pet. Wizard," he says, turning seriously if with a bit of a wrinkle in the nose to Neuken, "what can you do at range to harm the giant?"

“I could attempt to blind him, or send a great ball of fire his way.  Or both.  Then I could hasten our actions so that we may attack as though we were double our number.”

He speaks ruefully, as they were sure to be out-voted.

Playing with his dagger and listening to the others talk; "Well lets do this then.  I for one wouldn't mind a decent nights sleep under cover after we finish with the knife work."

Orin seemed agreeable to the whole thing, what with his inbred dislike for anything taller than seven feet.  He hefted his hammer and tried a few practice swings.  "Just remember they're crafty buggers.  And they can throw a rock like nobody's business.  Stay low and in their feet and they'll have more trouble with you."

"Maybe after I can figure out who built that tower," he mumbled to himself.  "Stonework looks all wrong for dwarven make, but who else would have done it up here?"

Greyband considers this, then nods. "I say fireball him, then bind him, then make us fast in that order. Anyone disagree?"

“That works for me.” Neuken cracks his knuckles.  And he’d thought tonight would be boring!