Natalia mimics Jahia, pressing her ear to the ground to listen as well. (That's the work of a professional.)

"Unless there is a nearby bandit camp to serve as a detour, or a cavern of hungry spiders we can readily unleash, we should hurry as suggested" Natalia says, giving Gregor and Bayle a quick nod from the ground. "We will need to whole party to fight the giant, splitting up to slow him down is a high risk for just a delay."

Tormund looks up through the trees and rain to the storm clouds above. "A bolt of lightning is far beyond any of us, but not entirely beyond possibility. If only we had more time to prepare."

(Soundscape)

A couple hours later, you emerge from the trees not far from Frickley.

As you approach the village, you notice bustling activity as farmers work rapidly to harvest or hide their crops. One of the village lookouts spots you coming and calls out to the others. Within moments a gathering of common folk emerge from behind the palisades to marvel at your return.

The mood of the villagers shifts from wariness to enthusiasm as they recognize the armor-clad figure you walk with. However they also show a good amount of trepidation regarding the two-headed wolf at her side.

Bayle races ahead shouting, "He's coming! The Bonecruncher! He's coming!"

A tall figure pushes his way through the crowd. It's Grigor Dunhold. His eyes go wide and his jaw goes slack at the sight of Jahia. He asks, "Is it really you?... The giantslay--"

Jahia raises a hand to silence him.

"I'm trail guide and protector for these wayward rovers. Nothing more." She interrupts. "They strayed too far from the town on a fool's errand. I vowed to deliver them safely, then return to my solitude. That is exactly what I plan to do... As for the giant..."

She kneels down, holding her hand to the ground.

"He's not currently on the move. You may yet have time to flee. If there's one thing I know about these beasts it's that they don't move with any deliberate haste. "

More concerned rumblings as Grigor turns to address the party. "She was to be our savior. What are we to do then?"

Gregor turns sadly to Jahia.  “That is not what you promised.  You promised to hear our mad plan.  You suggest the villagers flee, but Bayle has told you he will not.  He will fight.  This you knew when you brought us back.  To pretend otherwise does you no credit.”

Gregor gathers his robes about him.  “I am a healer.  I have in my satchel herbs that overwhelm the senses and can bring a fallen warrior to their feet.  I think Kas, Natalia and Tormund will fight.  Perhaps their blows will strike true.  If I were Qoneus I would knock over a grain tower and use it as a horn, throwing my voice to fool the giant into thinking a bigger giant protected the town.”

Gregor stands still for a moment.  “I’m sure others have ideas.  When you have heard the mad plans, Jahia Frostwind, perhaps you will tell Bayle your thoughts before you go.”

Gregor calls to KlemKah and pets him.  “Good bye, brave one.  The world is not always kind.  I am sorry I could not do more for you.”

Tormund scowls openly at Jahia's quick dismissal of the people of Frickley, listening earnestly to Gregor's words and nodding in agreement to confirm his willingness to stand with the group. He'll add briefly, "This is no ego-blind scramble for fame, this is for these people and their livelihood. It's what's right. To run away would simply doom wherever the giant goes next. This we must face to whatever end."

Natalia stares hard into the ground when she hears Jahia's words. She looks for words to say, until Tormund and Gregor speak. She nods along quietly in agreement. After a silent beat, Natalia gives the Giantslayer a serious look. "If the people of Frickley run, where do they go? Lord Aurel from Twin Rivers cares little for these frontier folk—he won’t waste soldiers to even escort them. Most won’t survive the journey, not with the bandits and monsters out there. A town turned to sellswords to gather you, because thet had no other choice."

Natalia then crosses her arms in frustration. A sudden lack of confidence washes over her and it weighs heaviy on her shoulders. The barbarian takes a deep breath. "Now, about using lightning... Here’s a mad idea: Have the townspeople dig a trench or pit near a tall structure and fill it with food—promise more is coming. When the storm hits, the mud might trap the giant. The sounds of storm will cover our movements, should we launch a surprise attack. If we can somehow get chains or a conductor connected to that tall structure onto the giant, we can gamble on lightning striking. Though i'm not sure how reasonable that chance is." She looks to the group for guidance.

Kas nervously says "I almost got taken out by a simple cliff. But, we need to stand and fight or maybe there is another way. We don't need to kill the giant, just make it feel like it is not worth it.

First, is there anything giant's dislike the taste of, but the people can be OK with? Maybe something like lots of garlic or onion or pepper? We could add that to the crops and around.

Second, we need to hit and run and draw it away from the village."

Jahia sets her jaw hearing Gregor's rebuke, visibly reacting to the heat of the villagers' appraising eyes on her.

She takes in the various suggestions silently with due consideration. In response to Kas she says, "A hill giant will eat anything, fresh or foul. It has no distinction. But you may be right about warding it off rather than killing it..." She looks to Grigor and asks, "The old windmill is the highest point in the town. Correct?"

He nods in agreement. Jahia then looks to Natalia. "Pits can be dug quickly. Not sure what you mean to do with the chains..." She looks to Grigor to see his reaction.

The old farmer shakes his head. "I don't know what this 'conductor' is, but I doubt we have sufficient metal chains to build anything. We make due with hempen rope for most of our binding needs. Could that work?"

Tormund thinks hard, looking up at the storm clouds. "Rope could be of great use to us in containing the giant. But I'm not sure if it would help to call the lightning. In my experience, the gods may strike that which dares to ascend higher than their station. In the mountains I've seen tall trees brought low and high kings in golden crowns reduced to char by these powers. Perhaps we could offer him a crown and hope his pride inspires judgement, but our best options may lie before us. Poison is unlikely to work if the giant can stomach spoilt foods, and without restraints, we're unlikely to survive long in close combat."

 “The giant has long legs and great strength.  Perhaps if we dug pits our archers could shoot from cover.  Maybe from different directions.  Could we dig trenches between pits so that when it charged where arrows came from the archers could sneak away before it arrived and fire again?”

Gregor sigs.  “But can arrows even pierce its skin? If Jahia thinks they can then perhaps Grigor can find me a short bow.”

The Bonecruncher

The townsfolk spend the next few hours preparing, per the party's instructions.

Jahia quickly shows a few of the farmers how to listen to the ground and give an alert at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Meanwhile, with the two-headed wolf by his side, Bayle stands tall, ready to lead the non-combatants to a safe hiding spot he knows of, just a few leagues away from the town. It's clear, the respect and trust shown by his fellow townsfolk fortify the young man.

As Bayle rallies the escapees, Jahia speaks a few words to KlemKlaw in a language only Gregor and Kas understand.

 The beast(s) whimper nervously in response, but Jahia responds with a firm, but loving "Shhh". She quickly trains Bayle how to give KlemKlaw a few basic commands, then offers him a traditional warrior's blessing.

Just then, the lookouts report the sound of approaching footsteps. The giant is on the move.

After a final farewell, Bayle leads the noncombatants through the northern escape route. To everyone's surprise, Grigor remains behind to assist the other farmers in the defense of the homes on the west side of town. Pello positions himself to bring down the windmill on cue.

As everyone moves into place, Jahia pulls Gregor aside. "Thank you." She says, tersely, without further explanation, before turning and walking away.

An interminable period of time transpires as you all wait in your positions. Long enough that you begin to doubt the accuracy of the farmer's reports... But then you feel it.

It starts as an unsteady feeling underfoot. Then a tremble. Then a shake. The giant approaches.

You see a massive, shadowy form in the distant mist. Next, you hear the wet, raspy breath. Then the figure emerges...

Even in the cool crisp air, the smell of filth and rot hangs heavy. The giant stands at least 16 feet tall and carries a club the size of a tree.

From a distance he bellows, "YoooooHooooo! Tinymens! Yegor Bonecrusher come for his fooood!"

With thudding footsteps that shake the ground as the giant moves closer, scrunching his face to look at Gregor and the pile of food.

"Who is you? What are this!?" He asks, still continuing his progress towards the food.

"Yegor Bonecrusher sayz give ALL tinymens foods. This not all tinymens foods. This not 'nuffing. This food for baby." He points an accusing finger at Gregor. "Yegor Bonecrusher are no baby!"

He takes a single step forward, jutting out his chest. "Yegor Bonecrusher are big big! See!? So, gimme ALL the food tinygreybeard or I smoosh yours head till jelly come out." He finishes this threat, laughing at his own words with a wide, stupid toothless grin which looks... ironically enough... like the grin of a baby.

Tormund will stay low in the tower, watching through a small gap but keeping himself and his bow as hidden as possible, waiting for the right moment to act. He looks to the other archer(s) in his tower with a steady, reassuring look and holds up a hand in preparation to signal an attack.

Kas stays hidden for the element of surprise

Gregor says quietly in Giant to Jahia.  “Thank you for your kindness to Bayle.  I had no doubt what you would choose.  It has been an honor.”  He bows and heads to the gate.

To the giant he says, also in giant. “The tinymen could only carry small food.  Eat and you will find moor up by the big tower.”  Gregor gestures behind him with his torch.

Yegor's grin widens grotesquely as he shuffles forward toward the food, licking his lips... He completely fails to notice the covered pit and falls into it. He falls prone and roars in pain as he is impaled by a cluster of pitchforks... And with that, the battle is on!

To be continued via Discord...

Giantslayers

Over the course of  a stunningly quick battle, and a brief scare at the wester tower, the defenders manage to execute their plan almost flawlessly.

With the final blow, Natalia severs the giant's spinal column and the massive creature suddenly goes limp. The unexpected stillness is jarring at first, and the silence that follows it is disorienting. Then, after a moment, the realization of what just happened sinks in and the hunter by Tormund's side falls to her knees and weeps, deep guttural, cathartic sobs which echo through the empty town.

Jahia gingerly moves closer to the giant, drops to her haunches and studies the enemy's still open eyes. At first, her diagnosis comes out as little more than a whisper.

"He's dead." She says, locking eyes with each of the party members.

Then, remembering where she is she stands and calls out in a triumphant war cry, "He's dead! The giant's dead!"

She looks to you all again, an actual, solid smile forming on her face for the first time since you met her. Meanwhile, a few blocks away, you hear the sound of townsfolk emerging from the buildings.

Tormund will kneel carefully beside the hunter and drape a warm blanket from his pack over her shoulders, offering a hand to her if she's willing. He'll request another nearby member of the town to stay with her as he goes to join the others at the fallen giant. Tormund's face is serious and he looks more thoughtful than happy at the death of their foe. Arriving beside Jahia and Natalia, he'll say, "It is done. I'm grateful none of the townspeople were hurt."

Gregor steps to the giant’s head and bows.  “Goodbye, Yegor.  I am sorry to have met you too late to hear your tale.  It is a great shame to come across a walking legend only to destroy it.  I wish we could have fed you and I hope you are not hungry now.”  He closes the giant’s eyes.

Natalia gives a wide grin and laughs into the air, clasping her hands around Jahia and Tormund. "I would not lie and say I didn't have any reservations," she shares. "But that was an incredible victory. I should make Nightmare Corp junior badges for all of you to commemorate!"

Natalia waves her great axe in the air and whoops loudly, trying to signal Bayle and the others. "I'm glad none of the townspeople are hurt as well. Our comrades here earned some well-deserved rest while we clean up."

Gradually, the other farmers who hung behind emerge expressing variations of shock, celebration and cathartic tears.

Grigor falls to his knees near the body of the giant and begins praying a common prayer to Qoneus the Protector. Some join him. Others simply stand in awe.

Pello moves to the side of the party, gingerly, tears in his eyes, and then starts laughing in a release of nervous hysterics. "Father protect us." He wheezes. "We're gonna needta dig one hell of a hole." His laughing turns to tears as he places a thankful hand on Natalia's back, pulling her close and leaning into her.

The Celebration

As the party and the farmers clean up after the battle, the archers set off to spread the news to the villagers who left.

They return by nightfall, just in time to celebrate. Pello brings out his finest reserves, and the best cooks among the village prepare a feast from the harvested crops.

When Bayle returns, leading his fellow townsfok with KlemKlaw at his side, he no longer seems like the child you left with a day ago. The folk he leads regard him with respect and admiration, and he seems to thrive on their trust.

Tastra and her hunters are dumbstruck and a bit chastened upon their return, but the leader of the hunters covers by putting her men to work dealing with the giant's corpse and setting up protective measures to ward against scavengers. Meanwhile, she explains that word has been sent to Twin Rivers about the need for assistance disposing with the corpse. The Lord of the Twins may not've been willing to risk his forces in defense of the town, but she's confident there are plenty of opportunists willing to assist with disposing the body if it means they can harvest some token to bring back with them. 

 Music

The celebration unfolds so beautifully and flawlessly that it would seem it was planned for months. Dances are given in honor of Jahia, Bayle and the brave rovers who came to the town in their time of need.  Natalia is perpetually swarmed by individuals wanting to see the axe that finally felled the giant. Kas loses track of the number of dances he's drawn into. Tormund is honored in a more subdued manner by hunters who bestow upon him a leather totem neckless,  marking him as an honorary member of the Frickley hunters. Jahia finds Gregor silently contemplating the giant's corpse and stands by his side in silence for a while.

"It's a strange thing, celebrating death, isn't it?" She finally asks. "That's why I left. Took my seclusion. I'd seen so much. The death of friends, enemies, innocents. I wanted no part." 

She turns to look at the distant bonfire and the dance surrounding it. "But we're always a part, aren't we? No matter how far we wander from the dance."  

She looks back toward the corpse. "Perhaps that's why Qoneus called the Giant King 'brother' before tricking him into his doom. I never understood that part of the story. Thought it was some deviation. Something lost in translation. But the older I get, the more I understand." 

She looks to the monk with a smile as she stand. "I owe you and your friends my deepest thanks for bringing me home. And, now, I think, it is time for me to rejoin the dance."

And with that she returns to the celebration.