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Author's Chapter Notes:
I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and although I'm hoping not to fall into the recurring villain trope, I think the inter-character relationships I'm setting up right now can go many different ways.
As morning washed over the forest, Teagan was roused from her slumber by a plethora of birds calls. She yawned, stretched, and slowly clambered to her feet.

"There's really nothing like a good rest to start the day!" she exclaimed.


Comparatively, Sihil had not had a good night. She had to endure screaming from the soldier with the broken leg as she worked with another to set the bone in place, and when she finally did drift off to sleep, her dreams quickly turned to nightmares.

She strove to know why the giantess would spare her and none other, why the giantess would show no mercy to children and yet at the last minute spare her... what was so special about her? Was the giantess simply trying to make her crack? Was she somehow different from everyone else?

Sihil sighed, and sat down next to the woman with the broken leg.

"Are you doing alright?" she asked, looking at the soldier's injured leg.

"I don't think it matters that much... we're all going to die here."

Sihil shuddered, but she understood everything. Everything seemed to be in vain.

"All is lost," whispered the soldier, sighing, "All is lost but the hope in our hearts, and that too fades quickly."

Sihil, not having much else to do, stood up and peered out of one of the small holes in the box. They were in a forest now. Sihil wondered how far from home she was, watching as the giantess carried her further and further away from the faintest glimmer of hope.

She sighed and stepped away from the hole before plopping down next to the two other captives in the box who tried escaping. Before she could say anything, one of them snapped at her.

"Piss off, you traitor. That soldier was right -- you turned yourself in willingly, and I don't think that anyone in their right mind would do such a thing. That is, unless they were cooperating with the giantess, for whatever reason."

Sihil was shoved away, slamming into the side of the box. She contained her tears as she scooted into the darkest corner of the prison, trying to ignore the piercing glares of her cell mates.


Teagan grinned as she read the next destination.

If you climb a tree, you should see a small mountain in the distance. Head to that mountain, and throw a rock as hard as you can into the cave. Keep throwing rocks until you hear a bird call from within the cave. Here you can restock your supplies - it's safe.

Teagan didn't have to climb a tree to find the mountain, for she was at its base. She circled it until she found a small and dark cave, just large enough for her to squeeze into. She picked up a pebble and hurled it inside.

She waited.

Nothing happened.

She tried it again, and again there was no result.

She then picked up a nearby chunk of rock and lobbed it inside, where she heard it shatter to pieces.

She heard a bird twitter from in the cave, and squeezed in jubilantly. She found herself in a small room, lit by candles. A bird hung from the ceiling, chirping away. A door swung open at the back of the room, and a scarred but friendly looking man entered the room, followed by a young boy and girl fighting over a toy. The children silenced as they saw Teagan.

"Hello there, friend!" exclaimed the man, who looked to be a bit over 30, "I am Isaac, a fellow survivor and a friend. These are Helen and Sasha, my two little compatriots.

The girl, Helen, politely bowed, while Sasha, the boy, smiled and waved. The girl looked to be about 12, while the boy was only a bit younger.

"What is your name, if I may ask?" Isaac inquired.

"I'm Teagan. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I've heard that you carry supplies you're willing to share... is this true? I have a few things I can offer in return, if need be."

The man smiled.

"There is no need to repay us, for kindness is unto itself a payment. Come, you look travel weary. We were about to partake in breakfast, and it would be quite rude to not insist that you join us!"

Teagan joined the group and followed them to a small table with plates of bread, dried fruit, and oil set about them. She thanked the man before hungrily digging in, happy to eat an actual meal for the first time in nearly a month. She finished her plate rather quickly, and dropped a crumb of bread in the box. Isaac noticed this, and inquisitively raised an eyebrow.

"There's no need to squirrel away crumbs, madam. We're more than willing to furnish you with what you need."

Teagan blushed, and stumbled over her words as she tried to explain.

"W-well, you see, I w-was attacked b-by tomkins and, well, uhm... I didn't want to kill them all, so I..."

Isaac's eyes went wide.

"Y...you brought tomkins in here? Are you mad? They saw everything..."

Isaac's face went grim, and the children at his side looked at each other in confusion.

"...we have to kill them. If you're doing what I think you're doing with them, we'll fill that box with actual food instead of tomkins. I never have had an appetite for the little things, but I understand that not everyone is like me. You can't let them leave alive, though. We mustn't let word of this hideout be heard by them."

Isaac sat down next to Teagan, hands resting on his lap.

"Teagan, if you don't just kill them, I'll be forced to send you out of here without anything at all."

Teagan nodded, and opened the box. The children gasped when they saw the handful of tomkins stowed inside.

"Whoa... it's those tiny people..." murmured Sasha, eyes fixed on the mostly panicked tomkins.

"Can I have one?" inquired Helen, reaching for the box.

Teagan shook her head and moved the box back. She turned back to Isaac.

"I doubt they saw anything, and they're my prisoners to do with what I please."

Teagan didn't want to say that she took pleasure from eating the defenseless tomkins, and she certainly wasn't going to say that she wanted to keep one for a while longer. Isaac sighed.

"Teagan, you seem like a nice lass, but don't lie to me. There are small holes in the box, and they could have peeked through them. I don't want to take any risks at all. You can always find more of the things. At least get rid of the ones by the window, and I'll be satisfied."

Teagan looked down. Three tomkins out of the six sat by the window. She sighed, shrugged her shoulders, and nodded. Survival outweighed pleasure.

"That's good. I'll leave it up to you how you want to dispose of them."

Teagan reached in the box and grabbed the three tomkins, which clamored and tried slipping away. One managed to slip out of her grasp and dived to the table, but was quickly caught by Helen.

"Can I have this one, miss?"

Teagan shrugged. She popped one of the other two in her mouth, and tossed the third to Sasha, who was fighting with Helen over the first tomkin. Teagan slid the one in her mouth around for a while before slowly swallowing it. Helen and Sasha, watching her, looked at their own crying tomkins. Sasha quickly imitated Teagan, while Helen put the screaming tomkin in her mouth without swallowing it.

Isaac looked a bit displeased when Teagan gave the children two of her captives, but nodded nonetheless.

"Alright. We'll get you some supplies now, I suppose."

Teagan followed Isaac, leaving her box behind.


Sihil watched in horror as the giant girl played around with the person in her mouth. True, this was the one that roughly shoved Sihil away, but Sihil was nonetheless terrified and upset. She curled up in the dark corner, hoping she wouldn't be noticed.

The giant girl opened her mouth, revealing a screaming face, and grabbed the owner of said face. She carefully extricated the woman from her mouth, and examined her. The giant girl said something in her strange language, and the giant boy leaned in to look at the poor woman. The giant girl said something else before returning the woman to her mouth and gulping her down, wincing as she did so. Sihil remained quiet and still as the giant girl looked back in the box, her eyes affixed in the soldier with the broken leg, named Anossos. Anossos screamed in pain as the giant girl picked her up, disturbing her broken leg. The giant girl, surprised by the loud scream of pain, dropped Anossos, causing her leg to flop uselessly to the side and letting Anossos mercifully pass out from the pain. The girl, seeing that her plaything no longer responded, let her eyes flit over to the only other person in the box besides Sihil, a young and rather frail man.

"No... please, someone, do somethi-"

The man's pointless pleas were cut short as the girl dangled him in front of her massive green eye. The boy reached for him, grabbing his arm. The girl scowled, shouted at the boy, and slapped his hand away. The man yelped as the impact grazed his side, before returning to his pointless begging. The girl lowered him into her mouth, slowly, letting her tongue extend out. She dropped him onto it, and he sank slightly onto the pinkish surface before it retracted into the girl's mouth. She giggled as he pounded on the roof of her mouth, screaming desperately. The girl didn't gulp him down as she did her previous victim, instead letting him linger in her mouth. Her eyes once again settled themselves upon the box. Sihil remained as still as she could, but was nonetheless spotted.

The girl reached in and roughly grabbed Sihil, causing pain to rocket out from where Firkon kicked her. Sihil sputtered, wincing as she was roughly brought to the girl's eye level. Sihil, too tired to cry any more than she had in the past few days, simply choked up as the giant girl observed her. She was honestly surprised she didn't meet her end at the hands of the first giantess.

"I suppose it's all the same in the end."

Sihil closed her eyes, collected herself, and prepared herself for whatever came next.


Teagan entered the room to find Helen marveling at the red haired tomkin and Sasha peeking at the one with the snapped leg. Teagan rushed over to the children.

"Hey! Put those back in the box, they aren't toys!"

The children obeyed, putting the tomkins back inside the box. Teagan noticed the small bulge in Helen's mouth as well as the fact that she was missing one, and put the two facts together.

"Helen... that's your name, right? Anyways, take that last one out of your mouth and put it in the box."

"Kids, listen to the guest. You shouldn't go poking about in other people's business."

Isaac turned to Teagan.

"I apologize dearly for the children... you see, they're orphans that I took in a while ago. They don't know anything of manners or sociability."

Teagan nodded, shouldering her new satchel of food and drink.

"I understand. I thank you kindly for your assistance to me, and I wish you the and your adopted charges the best of luck. I'll be on my way now. I have a destination to get to, and the sooner I reach it, the better."

Teagan bowed to Isaac before leaving the cave and reading the next entry on her list of instructions.

Once you've gotten supplies, head westward until you reach a boulder-strewn river valley. It should be easy to recognize, as the ground is always wet and strewn with rocks. It is imperative that you travel far from the riverbanks, for this area is quite populated by the lesser folk, and these groups in particular are very hostile to humans. If you happen to find a human, especially a child, don't be rash. These are slaves, either whipped and cut into submission or brainwashed from a young age to follow the simple commands of their masters. This is one of the most dangerous parts of your journey, so I advise you to make no unnecessary stops or detours.

Teagan sighed.

"Well, that's quite reassuring. At least I might get to have some fun."

Meanwhile...

Firkon grinned proudly as he strode into the citadel hall, still wearing his tattered red imperial robe. Four guards trailed behind him.

"I am Legate Firkon, leader and last survivor of the tracking crew sent to find out if the rumors of the passing giant are true. I have found, at the expense of all too many lives, that said rumors are true. Not only have I found this out, but I have also ascertained that one of us, a maiden by the name of Sihil, is working with the large one to bring about our own demise. I am requesting temporary charge of a legion to hunt down and slay this evil giantess and her traitorous partner."

Firkon's torn red cape fluttered regally in the breeze, and the proud man stood tall and strong. He was not going to let any more innocent lives be lost, whatever the cost.
Chapter End Notes:
I'm really looking forward to fleshing out Firkon's character, especially since he's a strange sort of altruistic yet prideful antihero.
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