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[JoeBlank]

And now back to our story . . .

Dearest Mother and Father,

I am still well, and things have progressed here at Outpost Xavier. We are managing to establish a foothold, but it seems the more we accomplish the more mysteries we uncover. But I am getting ahead of myself. Allow me to begin where my last letter left off.

As I said before, we were each going about our chosen or assigned tasks, attempting to get the Outpost into working order. Igor was sent to scout for the giant, or any trace of him, while the we discussed plans for dealing with the beast. We all agreed that simply doing nothing and allowing his continued assaults would not work. Learning more about where he lived would help us decide whether launch an attack there or to set some form of trap for him at the Outpost. Suggestions included ropes or a log roll to trip him up. Darius knew that as a dwarf the giant and he shared a mutual hatred, so he volunteered to engage him in melee to lure him into whatever trap we could create. As the next most able-bodied swordsman, I agreed to aid him in any way I could. Dram and his archers would attack from the Outpost, with us using fire to illuminate the giant.

Our discussions were interrupted by Cpl. Chervac calling an assembly of everyone present. He advised that he was stripping Sgt. Guido of command for dereliction of duty. The drink had gotten the best of him. Known as Dargoth's Breath, this dwarven spirit was known to burn the insides of normal men. Chervac told us that Guido had volunteered to be sent to Outpost X, and appeared to have a death wish that would soon be granted, as he could not be healed from the effects of the Dargoth's Breath. In fact, he was now blind. I suggested that we provide him to opportunity for an honorable death, but in this state he was not capable of much. He did not put up any fight and simply stood his ground, head down, while Chervac delivered the news.

We now needed a new commander, and it was soon agreed that the dwarf was well suited for this role. Sgt. Darius took to the position well, asking that we each report our positions and duties. He then proposed that we send the majority of the mules back to the Keep, before we ran out of food for them. The young girl, Mirel, who had arrived with him volunteered for this job, as she had a mule of her own and seemed to know how to handle the animals. A list of needed supplies was prepared, including requests for shovels, pole axes, blacksmithing tools, grain, and supplies to build siege weapons; and a report of the damage was added. We also decided to send the bodies back for proper burial. The six men in the infirmary would have to remain, as Brother Ben advised they would not survive the journey.

It takes about a third of a day to reach the keep, and midday was almost upon us, so we quickly began packing to send them off, with the intent that they remain overnight and return on the morrow. One of the men, Ord Smitty, noted that Igor, our usual cook, had still not returned from scouting, and so began preparing a meal in his absence. I returned to drilling a team of ten men on setting pikes against a charge, in the hopes that they could at least protect the door if the giant returned.

Wondering about Igor, Darius used his hammer to sound a signal by banging on the oil pot. There was initially no answer, but shortly thereafter the watch sighted an arrow flying our way from the southeast. When it hit the wall we could clearly see that it was covered in dung, an signal Igor had planned to use only if he was in dire trouble.