The guards stationed at the outpost do not let themselves get dragged into the squabbles of their superiors, but when Lady Alyssa asks to conduct business, they're more than happy to comply, clearly wanting to shift to a subject more likely to kill enemies than allies.<br/><br/><strong>"Unfortunately, maps aren't especially useful; we are dealing with fickle creatures, clustering and scattering and shifting on a whim,"</strong>the commander answers.  He's a former Agnesian mercenary with experience dealing with such creatures.<strong>"A map would be too time-sensitive, and our scouts have suffered considerable losses getting what information we do have.  We've yet to stage a major engagement with this force, but from past experiences with these kinds of brutes, diversions are... a mixed bag.  If you attack, you're fighting all of them in the immediate vicinity.  If they feel too threatened, they sound an alarm for anything and everything in earshot.  An ogre's warcry can echo for miles, and it would summon the entire horde to one place.  If we could lay a trap big enough to cripple the horde, it would help, but otherwise, it would be dangerous.  If Lord Bradford succeeds, however, it may be wise to wait a few days; the giant is all that is holding this army together.  Without him, I am confident that they will soon be at each others' throats.  Then, we can easily eliminate them."</strong><br/><br/>-------------------------<br/><br/>It's a good ten minutes before Eric reaches his destination.  He flies over crude huts, shelters, or even just hide beds exposed to the elements, all placed with little rhyme or reason to them.  Halfway through his flight, he spots the speck of light that would grow into what looks like a funeral pyre; the giant's 'bed.'<br/><br/>At the heart of the camp rests the giant, without an ally for at least a hundred yards.  He rests atop a mound of slow-burning, smokeless wood large enough that it may even burn through the night.<br/><br/>The beast himself is massive, and even in his sleep he wears his incredibly bulky armor that doesn't reveal an inch of skin.  The suit is black with red trim, with plates piled on top of plates to the point where it seems like it would be difficult to even move.  The shoulders flare out an a broad, almost feathery outcropping that rises above the helm's crescent horns.  The giant clutches a massive golden scepter topped with a red stone, resting across his torso as he sleeps.