"Do you have drawing of the area?", the firebolg asks. He's not much for maps, but knows that others put great importance in them.

((Not asking you to draw a map of the area, but asking IC about what places, buildings, features, etc. might be in the local area, perhaps a good spot to draw Big Maw to for an ambush?))

The minotaur nods and walks to the wall to the left and pull on a curtain, revealing a large and detailed map on the wall.

(Generally, the area for a good 20 miles in any direction is hills, going into mountains at the western and eastern edges. Hills are partially forested. The ogres are sieging the fort, with smaller bands sighted on major roads and a few semi-permanent camps within a 4-6 hours march (for humanoids) from  the fort. The main camp, where Big Maw is likely located is further back, ringed by some smaller outposts.  You can see a number potential ambush locations in this hilly location, including a narrow passage between hills, a woodline overlooking a road, and the rocky cliffs further away from the ogre main camp. There may also be caves that a giant will struggle with.)

"Impressive." Nasaar says as he looks over the map. "Seems like a better-organized army than one would normally expect of either giants or ogres though..."

Quote from DragonDenn >>

"Impressive." Nasaar says as he looks over the map. "Seems like a better-organized army than one would normally expect of either giants or ogres though..."

 "That's why we suspect there is more to this invasion than appears on the surface."

"Do you know of any other allies the giants have? Could they have struck a deal with the humans? Keeping forces occupied here weakens forces towards the border.", the firbolg muses.

Quote from Spiderwrangler >>

"Do you know of any other allies the giants have? Could they have struck a deal with the humans? Keeping forces occupied here weakens forces towards the border.", the firbolg muses.

"Such a thought is worrying. But giants look on humans as soft juicy snacks. An alliance is a complex thing that most will not understand"

"Unless the giant leading them is uncommonly smart for a hill giant... which seems likely."

"An alliance may be a cut above what most giants would consider..." Nasaar says, gesturing to the map and the obviously indept tactical setup of the giant's army. "I would also say that no giant would be able to set up an army like that either. If I didn't know better I'd say that was a human, or some other intelegent, being, organizing this entire ogre army, not a hill giant."

"You think Big Maw is just a... what do they call that, the wooden person on the front of a ship?", the firebolg inquires.

"Someone that is just to look at but isn't the one who does things?"

Gruntor nods and pretends to study the map.  But he has no idea what he is looking at.

"Maybe a figurehead, but maybe having a magical item that gives him greater smarts." Nasaar says with a shrug. "It is hard to know without more scouting and information gathering."

The minotaur asks:

"Do you need any resources we can help with?"

The firebolg considers.

"Can do magic to heal, but haven't found time to make potions to do that. If you had any of those, or any other unused gear or items we can put towards fighting the giant. If we set an ambush, what force could be spared? Have any of those big machines that throw arrows as long as this?", he spreads his arms to the sides.

The commander responds to your requests:

"Potions are a bit sparse, but we can spare one potion to each of you. If you want any gear from the armory, you can ask for it. If any giant is ambushed, we will send any spare troops, so the close the ambush is to the fort, the more we can spare. We have a few ballistas on the walls, but they are not very mobile."

"Whatever potions you can spare would be great." Nasaar speaks up with a nod. "I have my own balista option, so don't expect me to lug around one of those big ones." He pats the cannon positioned on his shoulder.

"Gruntor want bigger weapons..battleaxe and longsword"  

Quote from Burgen_Badluk >>

"Gruntor want bigger weapons..battleaxe and longsword"  

" You can take weapons from the armory over there."

((Anything else we want to ask about from him?))

(If there's nothing else, you may proceed with how you wish to explore/scout).

"So what are we doing then?" Nasaar asks as they leaves the commander. "Just head towards the center and see what we can find for giants?"