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[JoeBlank]

Coming out of the trees, from down the path, and running towards the outpost, were twenty-one men. Or I should say twenty men and one dwarf. (I have been using men to refer to my fellow soldiers, but our eventual number included four women. They stand their watches and acquit themselves well, and I consider them “men” in the racial sense of the word, and soldiers in every sense of the word.) The red-haired dwarf was heavily armored, wearing plate, carrying a shield and a warhammer, and his stout legs seemed to struggle to keep up with the others. As we opened the gates we saw that they ran in fear, for they were being followed closely by a pack of wolves that had them easily outnumbered.

The dwarf was the last one in the door, due in part to his slow pace but also to his desire to insure that the others were seen to safety. We managed to close it behind him only seconds before the wolf pack split and seemed to surround the outpost. As quickly as they came, the growling dogs departed, simply going around the outpost as if it were an obstacle. And they had good cause for their haste, for close on their heels was a threat to all living creatures. The giant had returned.

Dram and his archers were already making their way towards the arrow slits, preparing to fire on the wolves, and now they turned attention to a much bigger target. It was too dark to make out the creature clearly, and I saw little for myself. In the bottom floor of the tower, the new unit was in chaos, and they had brought with them pack animals and a great deal of supplies. The mules were the giant’s goal, and he began shouting in the common tongue “Give me what is mine! Give me the animals!”

Understand that the desire to give in to his wishes was strong in all of us. One had only to look at the ruined top third of the outpost to see the consequences of refusing him. But we could see too that he would never be satisfied. The previous unit had given over all of their supplies, leaving Outpost X nearly barren, and yet now he was returning for more. Our assignment is to man and protect this outpost, and we were determined to do our duty.

I began shouting to the new arrivals to take up arms and help me protect the gate. They were slow to react, and seemed to not know what to do. There were pole arms and spears which could be used to brace the doors, if only someone would bring them. The dwarf, who I later learned is called Darius, took up a bow and made for a position to fire on the giant, his race’s mortal enemy. Dram was already in position, and he lit his arrows so that they might serve as beacons for the others to fire on. His first two shots fell well short, as the giant stayed outside the clearing, a short distance into the trees.

From inside the door, I could not see what was happening, but I felt and heard the boulders the giant was throwing at our new home. BOOM! I thought the walls would crumble for certain. He had aimed for Dram’s position, and managed to cave in the wall there. Still, the archers continued to fire, and I continued to shout orders at the men on the bottom floor. A few were actually beginning to respond, while others were rushing to unload the mules, in fear that we would give in to the giant’s demands. Darius managed to connect with a flame arrow, hitting the giant square in the chest. BOOM! The giant returned fire on the dwarf’s position, knocking Darius down to the ground floor. The armored dwarf hit hard, obviously shaken, but he got up quickly and made for another arrow slit.

BOOM! Another hit, just above my position. Stones and debris fell on me, and I ordered the men to use the rocks to bar the door. The dwarf’s burning arrow made a perfect target for Dram, and he connected with two more, clearly wounding him. The three arrows were no where near enough to kill the giant, but he did not expect to be met with such a fight. He turned and began to lumber away.

Once we realized that he was leaving, we were too exhausted to shout and relish our victory. Brother Ben made a quick survey of the wounded, and learned that we had lost one man to the attacks, crushed by the stones thrown by the giant.

The new unit was led by Corp. Chervac. I asked him about Guido, and he had served with our Sergeant. He swore that Guido was not known as a drinker, but suspected that he had lost hope. Surely his assignment to Outpost X, with such green troops, was meant as a punishment or revenge of some sort, if not a death sentence.