"I say lass," Arngeirr turned to Alyssa, rubbing his huge chin with his hand in contemplation, "I can't say I've ever heard of it.  You say there were a<i>number</i>of hugemen there?  Do you know anything else about it?"<br/><br/>Arngeirr is about to remark on how helpful the wiseman Balder would be in this situation when something grabs his attention.  Still standing beside the table, he produces the hornet locked in amber from his waistband, the key to his father's relic.  The item hums with a faint buzzing sound as if the insect's wings were flapping; the giant turns the item over, seeing that the hornet is still frozen and immobile.  "Good heavens," he says, "Could it be... reacting to the sashes somehow?  Perhaps he had best lock this all away in the reliquary for the night and post a guard."<br/><br/>The giant shakes his head and turns back to the warrior.  "But before then, I would like to know what you know about this elusive Hoshino, if it's not too much to ask.<br/><br/>----------<br/><br/><i>The savage hornet demon rose into the air to the sound of furious wings, its own children rising with it; man and beast were launched high into the air, until the demon lashed its wings and limbs out and held them in place, breaking its forward momentum and dropping the monk on the ground below.  Its mouth-parts opened disgustingly wide, revealing rows of teeth and a lashing tongue, and as it screamed an undertone of something of something that might have been a human voice rang out across the gardens.  Its wings began to beat again and it tucked in its limbs, presenting the huge barb of its stinger as it dive-bombed the fallen monk with every intention of running him through.</i>