Daryle is summoned by Maralictor Wirt to the Juliver Gate, and she is to bring her gear. Wirt has a mission for her. She reports to the gate with her sister Darelle and she is not surprised to see Gerald there as well. Their assignment is to find Byrsag, the hill giant near Dimsdale and collect the back taxes he owes. Wirt believes that the Coopers are the best people for this task since they have already had some dealing with him. They are to make contact with the giant and "convince" him to turn over the two barrels of honey he must pay every quarter. This honey is especially needed now with the rationing and the lack of food. They can use physical force but they are not to kill him, however, as he fulfills a needed economic role in the area. The Coopers are provided with two riding horses, and a sleigh with a team of two horses. Daryle and Darelle will ride the horses, while Gerald will drive the sleigh.
While they are readying their equipment and animals at the Juliver Gate, Cassandra walks in from the refuge camp. She talks to Gerald and attempts to convince him to help her and Nissa by allowing them to stay in his house. Gerald mentions that there are already two families staying there, and that there is no room available. He tells her she should seek shelter in the Hellknights barracks as other civilians are also housed there. Cassandra walks away angry at Gerald. The Coopers shrug, then head out.
The ride to Dimsdale is cold and uneventful. They notice logging activities along the way, with several logging camps set up and hundreds of Hellknights cutting away a large number of trees. Darelle is concerned that these logging operations may not be sustainable. When they arrive in Dimsdale, they notice that the population of has doubled overnight with refugees. Mayor Dunleaf Appletop is happy to see the Coopers again, and greets Gerald enthusiastically. He shares with them some of the hardships the village has been living through since the destruction of part of Fort Inevitable. He also gives them the village's last apple pie.
The Coopers head up the valley, following the pastures that border the river. Slowy they ascend until they reach an altitude of 2,000 feet. Here they find Byrsag's home, a rough one room cabin built of hewed timber. There are several large bee hives as well as a stable. Right away Daryle notices that there is no smoke coming from the cabin's chimney and that all of the shutters are closed. She also sees several large tracks, which indicate that a sleigh pulled by two large draft horses accompanied by the giant left here since the last snow fall and headed north east higher in the mountains. Nevertheless, they decide to check the cabin just in case.
The door is locked from the outside, and there is only one window but it is shuttered. Daryle opens the door and steps inside the cabin. Byrsag appears to have left everything but his winter gear here, indicating that he plans on returning. Gerald looks at the thatching job and sees that it's decent work. But the spigot appears to be broken, so Gerald casts mend. He also uses flaming sphere to start the fire while the rangers place the horses in the barn for the night. They spend the night in the giant's home. The cabin eventually becomes nice and warm. Gerald casts clean to provide himself with a space to place his bedroll, and also wizard lock to close the door, but makes a slight change to allow Byrsag to come in. Fortunately for the girls' sanity, he does not share this information with them.
Pharast 23, 4712
Waking up refreshed after an uneventful night, the Coopers set out with their animals and arrive after two days to find a large stone fort at the bottom of a valley nestled between two high peaks. The fort sits at the base of a large frozen waterfall. This waterfall, when running, falls on the roof of the hall then wraps around on either side and the water forms a natural island. A stone bridge leads from the hall across the river. The tracks on the outside of the fort indicate that a large amount of traffic has circulated through here in the last three days.
As they observe from a distance, Daryle notices two orcs coming out of the only set of doors visible, carrying a large chamber pot on a wooden pole. They carefully make their way on the ice, then dump the waste in the river. Marks on the orcs and the poor quality of their clothing indicate that they are slaves. The Coopers can also hear faint merry singing, even with the distance that separates them. Thinking that the level of intoxication must be high, they decide to enter the giants' fort and explore.
The first room they enter after cracking open one of the giant double doors is the barn. A large numbers of wagons, sleighs, and animals are housed here. A tower in the southwest corner contains hay bales and lead to an observation post above the roof line that is currently not manned. Two well crafted doors stand over twenty feet tall and ten feet wide. They work together and manage to prop one of them open. Inside they see a large corridor leading to a great hall. Though only a portion of the hall is visible, they can see that many giants are gathered here, enjoying food, drinks, and songs. Daryle sees at least three kinds of giants: hill giants, stone giants, and even a frost giant. The sound is deafening. There are smaller doors on either side. As they debate what to do, an unseen giant orders the crowd in the great hall to settle down and let their guest speak. An unseen Greenhide then takes the floor and begins to discuss the possibility of an alliance between the goblins and the giants to attack the Hellknights while they are weak.
Having heard enough, the Coopers decide to open the western door. A corridor leads the length of the fort and sports several doors on either side. This hallway smells of good food and fresh bread, indicating that the kitchen is nearby. The Coopers walk to the end of the hall, and open the furthest door. This appears to be a guest room, richly adorned. Evidence indicates that four giants currently reside here. Gerald proposes to steal some of the giants' possessions and place them in Greenhide's room to mark him as a thief and lose credibility with the giants. Darelle and Daryle agree but decide they should find his room first before encumbering themselves with the giants' stuff.
Other rooms along this corridor include the weapons room and the armory, as well as two other common guest rooms. So far the Coopers have seen that there are at least twenty-two giants in the fort. Not wanting to explore the kitchen while it is being used, the Coopers cross the large hallway leading to the great hall again, and enter the east wing. The first room they enter has a giantess sleeping in the bed, and several gleeming objects on the shelf about ten feet off the ground. They then enter a room where four beds are tightly placed next to each other. On two of these beds two hill giants are passed out drunk. Darelle notices that one of the giants has a bulging purse. After a whispered conference with her siblings, she decides to steal the purse. In it she finds 110 platinum pieces from Galt.
They move on to another room. This room is richly decorated and appears to be unoccupied. Daryle spots a chest, and struggles to open it. Inside she finds female clothes. Meanwhile, Gerald is grabbed from behind and thrown on the ground before being dragged under the bed, where he is attacked by a bear. Darelle manages to charm it. She eventually gets it to climb on the bed, and once he is settled Gerald casts deep slumber and the bear goes down. In the mattress Daryle discovers a large leather backpack with 28 gems of various value, for a nominal value of 5,890 crowns, as well as roughly 5,000 crowns in coinage.
The Coopers then converse with each other. Should they remain here and continue their attempt to set up Greenhide or should they head back to Fort Inevitable with the wealth they found in the mattress? Surely, they surmise, the value of the coins will more than offset the missing honey.
They head back, encountering nothing in the corridor, but when they crack the door to the barn open they see a stone giant accompanied by an ogre. The giant is feeding the animals while the ogre is sweeping the waste away. Darelle and Daryle successfully sneak under the wagons and head towards their own sleigh. Gerald is not so lucky, however, and the money he is carrying jingles, attracting the stone giant's attention. He lumbers over to the first wagon, where Gerald is hiding, and bends down. The stone giant confronts Gerald, mistaking him for an orc and orders him to get back to work. Gerald replies that he's been ordered to lubricate the axle. The stone giant grumbles but heads back to feeding his animals. A few minutes later, both giant and ogre step back into the fort.
The Coopers quickly hitch their animals and ride out of the giants' steadfast.
Pharast 26, 4712
The party returns to Byrsag's house and they check the barn to ensure that there were no honey barrels left, which is indeed the case. They arrives in Dimsdale early in the morning, and provide Mayor Appletop with some of the game they found along the way. The mayor is thankful.
They head back to Fort Inevitable and report what they discovered to Maralictor Wirt. She collects the animals. Darelle turns in 100 of the Galt platinum pieces, while Daryle turns in 2,600 crowns to the Hellknights. Wirt tells them she wants them to go back and find out whether the giants were convinced by Greenhide and, if so, what their plans are. In the meantime she will notify Roscoe and take appropriate defensive measures.
Gerald returns home with flees from Byrsag's home. He finds that Cassandra and Nissa have convinced Roscoe to issue an order relocating them to his bedroom. Gerald heads to the Citadel. He explains to Roscoe what has transpired in the last week and attempts to talk Roscoe into nominating Cassandra as ambassador to the giants. Roscoe replies that he will think about it.
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