It had been a few days since Nathan appeared in the valley, during this time he explored his surroundings, he didn't find much, he learned that the forest stretched over the horizon, over the mountains there was more forest that also had no end in sight, he didn't even consider going further down the valley since he could see there wasn't anything there.

He managed to make a routine for himself, he would wake up at dawn, collect some firewood, feed the fire and try to find anything that could point him to civilization.

Another thing he noticed over the course of multiple days was that he didn't feel hunger, and only hunger, he still needed to drink and sleep, but he didn't need to eat anymore, for some reason, you wouldn't find him complaining anyway.

The problem was that he couldn't decide which way to go, so he decided to leave to chance since every way had the same chance of finding anything, that being fuck all.

“Alright, I didn't find anything in my immediate surroundings, and I don't want to stay here until the end of time, so might as well choose a direction and walk until i find anything” He paused for a moment “The forest might be my best option, although I don't hunger (for some reason) I am still vulnerable to the cold at night, and going that way I'll be surrounded by fuel, so I think that's the best option”

And with that he started walking.

He didn't expect to find anything, but this was better than doing nothing besides waiting for something to happen, and he didn't have that amount of patience.

One thing he noticed along his journey was that a small black wolf was following him, and he only noticed it because it was the only living being he encountered since he appeared here, and because the wolf wasn't very good at hiding. Nathan believed the later to be true since the wolf KNEW how to hide, it was keeping a low profile and using vegetation to hide his (in comparison to the forest) big frame, the problem was that all of this techniques *would* work if it wasn't because Nathan could see him from above the foliage.

But it wasn't doing anything, and even if it was, he doubted it would be a threat, so Nathan left him there since it wasn't bothering him and having ANYTHING as company was better than nothing.

So he just kept walking until the sun started to set over the horizon, at which point he decided to stop and set up “camp” in a clearing he found.

That was supposed to be the plan when he noticed something in the distance. It was small but he could definitely recognize what it was.

Barely noticeable, there where small orange dots, and those could only mean one thing…

“FIRE, PEOPLE” Nathan screamed enthusiastically feeling hope for the first time since he arrived here.

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How do you act on a normal day?

This may sound like a rhetorical question, and it is, but the point is that this wasn't a normal day for Loret, and as such he wasn't acting like he normally would.

Because tell me dear viewer, how would you act if a behemoth with the ability to think rationally, capable of projecting magic and a monstrous might was walking in the direction of your home with unknown intentions and you were unable to do anything about it?

Useless.

That's how Loret was currently feeling.

He was supposed to be THE hunter, the protector, someone the people of his home could look up to when times were hard, but he couldn't do anything to help besides keeping an eye on the giant and reporting back to the mayor.

Some would say that this was enough, since no one else could safely do what he was doing, but to him, this was shameful, and not because of some bruised ego, no, it was frustration at being unable to completely stop this threat without risking the lives of others.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

But he wouldn't let his thoughts weigh him down, as much as it frustrated him, he would do everything in his power to help, and if that meant observing a walking catastrophe from the bushes he would do it.

Speaking of the devil, the giant decided to stop for the day and started to make a campfire, and Loret couldn't be more thankful for that, at this pace he would reach the village in less than a day.

That feeling of relief was immediately shattered when the giant stood watching in the direction his home was and screamed like a maniac.

Feeling like his heart would stop at that moment, even if it was different to every other giant the message could be understood across all languages, a declaration of war.

He decided he couldn't stay here any longer, the cat was out of the bag, the giant already knows of his village and how far it is, so staying with the giant would be useless. He was better standing guard at the gates of his home with the guards and siege weaponry at his side, however useless they may be against this foe.

“It's better to die surrounded by loved ones than to die alone” Loret said in his mind.

It was decided, he would return to his people and prepare to defend their home with their lives if it came to it.

So the giant wolf started running once again, but this time there wasn't fear in his mind like last time he did, there was only determination in his head, determined to reach the place he called home and to do whatever he could to protect it from this monster.

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Darl was currently standing in the walls of his village.

The guard tried their best at renovating and reinforcing the old and dilapidated walls, but there was only so much that could be done in a few days.

But even then they managed to do a good job, the wall didn't look this good in decade, not only that, but the surroundings had been cleared and filled with stakes to allow the gunners a clear shot if the giant proved to be dangerous.

Speaking of shooting, he looked towards the ten ballistas that were lined across the length of the wall.

Normally there would only be five ready and available, since these were the more reliables and were in better shape than all the others, but they had another cheaper and weaker set of five ballistas as backups in case any of them broke, but since this was a serious situation it was decided that they had to use every single bit of fire power they had at their disposal, even if it wasn't the best or most reliable source of damage.

And that included Darl himself.

He was the only Caster in the village, and because of that he was supposed to be in the front lines ready to protect their home if necessary. Now, the thing was that Darl was old, and his heart wasn't what it used to be anymore, so he was very limited in how much magic he could use before running out or harming himself.

That wouldn't stop him though, even if he was old and his heart weak, he would tear his body apart from the effort before standing idle and doing nothing while his village was being threatened by an unknown enemy.

A scream broke him out of his thoughts, one of the guards was pointing towards the forest with a spyglass on his hand, Darl could barely see it with his eyes, but there in the distance he could see the silhouette of a person in the horizon shadowed by the setting sun.

The sight made the mayor’s blood run cold, for a moment he could move while all of the guards went into overdrive to man the walls.

“...It’s here” Was the first thing the mayor could say before kneeling and offering a small prayer to the gods “Oh Great Ones, please, this humble servant begs for your help in this time of need”...but when the gods didn't answer he couldn't help but falter a bit in his resolve, before getting up.

“...It seems not even the gods want to help us…” He paused to gather his thoughts once again “...We can't waste any more time” Darl started walking towards the center of the wall where the guard captain was standing issuing orders.

-“Captain! Please update me on the situation”

-”Of course mayor! We already started the evacuation like we planned, I have every man and woman capable of using a bow already posted in the walls, and all of the ballistas are charged and ready for battle!” The captain said firmly.

-”That's good, that's good” The mayor visibly relaxed when he heard those news “Any news about Loret?”

-“We haven't heard from him since he left a couple of days ago” The captain said while shaking his head

This was bad, Loret was the strongest warrior the village had to offer, and if he wasn't here, then their chances of survival fell off a cliff.

“...At least things can't get any worse now…”

Of course, Fate always rises to the challenge, because as the saying goes “it can always get worse.”

This came in the form of a roar coming from the forest, the intent of the message obvious to everyone that heard it.

“...A declaration of war”