chapter 2: the great hall

Twilight began to fall upon the forest as both Sylvia and Cailan found themselves in a large clearing with what seemed to be some large old ruins.

"Well, would you look at that!" Cailan stepped forward cautiously with his bow readied. "Be careful. This looks like a nice place to set up camp, but I wouldn't be surprised if some other creatures got the same idea."

Sylvia approached the side of the weathered structure with her amulet in hand. She found herself at an old entryway that led inside to a great hall of sorts, with shabby decor on its walls and one long table that was positioned horizontally in the back of the room. Behind the table was one massive tree extending through the ceiling with a giant space carved out of it in the form of a ridiculously large chair. As Sylvia inched closer to investigate, she heard a rustling coming from behind the tree. She was too late in realizing after taking a look that the noise had come from a large, tusked animal which immediately met her gaze. In less than a moment, she tried running back to the entryway to make her escape. The beast had nearly gotten the best of her before an arrow made way through its chest and stopped it dead within its tracks. Cailan jumped down from one of the branches reaching out of the ceiling and hurried towards Sylvia.

"T-thank you." Sylvia said as she sat against the wall, panting. "I thought that was it for me."

"Don't mention it. Hey, at least you found us dinner!" Cailan tried his best to cheer her up as he took out his knife and proceeded to prepare the wild boar.

Sylvia winced at the sight of the animal, got up and continued to investigate the room.

"It looks like a great hall to hold feasts in, but there is only one table and chair." With curiosity, she made her way through the rest of the ruins taking care not to intrude on any more residents and found a few rooms of interest. One of which was a room where many beds and personal chests resided that looked to be of normal size. Another room connected to the great hall contained a large cooking furnace along with many ornate basins and platters presumably used for serving.

As she made her way back, Cailan was already done preparing the boar and had set up a fire within the hall. "So? Whatcha think?"

"By the looks of it, this place certainly used to be the home of a giant. What I found interesting was that most of the facilities here are mainly accessible only by regular people our size and not so much the giants."

"It wouldn't be unfair to say that the ancient giants had servants tending to their needs day to day." Cailan said while methodically turning his piece of boar over the fire. "Giants have always been known to subjugate whom they consider to be minor beings underneath them."

The two sat in silence while concentrating on their meal. After taking just a few bites, Sylvia started to set up her bedroll. "Hey, Cailan?" She asked.

"Mhmm?" He barely looked up from his boar leg.

"Thanks again for letting me come along. I've had more excitement in this one day than I've had in my whole life at the village. I think I could really get used to this."

"Well, I definitely enjoy your company." Cailan said with his mouth full of boar.

Sylvia giggled. She made her way back to the fire and sat close to Cailan. "You know... it feels like it's going to be pretty cold out tonight. Maybe it might be a good idea to share only one bedroll to stay warm."

Cailan stopped chewing momentarily as his eyes widened. "Uuhh y-yeah, great thinking!" He quickly put down what was left of his boar and stood up abruptly. "I'm gonna go take care of some business real quick, so I'll be right back."

Cailan made his way for the treeline as he untied the string to his trousers. As he relieved himself, he noticed a shuffling out in the forest. He couldn't quite make out what it was, but he was able to catch a shadow of what looked to be something bipedal. He quickly finished and headed back towards the camp.

"Better safe than sorry." He said as he took out a pouch with various bits and objects. "Just in case anything wants to visit us tonight, we'll know they're coming."

He quickly fashioned and set up what seemed to be an alarm outside the ruins using string and and old bell.

Sylvia waited and watched as the hunter did his work to ensure they would be safe for the night. Something about Cailan doing things for her safety turned her on even more. With every stake he drove into the ground, Sylvia became more and more restless.

He made his way back, removed his tunic and chausses, and slipped into the bedroll lying on his back. Sylvia wasted no time, and began running her fingers through the hair on his chest. Cailan reached over and stroked her side, feeling the smooth curve of her body under the nightshirt. Her skin was soft with no sudden dips or bulges. Her breasts were large and they pushed into his chest. Upon touching her thighs, they started to tremble and immediately became wet in between. He pulled her close to him and they began to kiss each other.

The night was good. Sylvia had finally found what she was looking for and it seemed like Cailan did as well. After a long night of pleasure, they talked under the stars that shown through the open ruins and became closer to one another. This was definitely something Sylvia felt she could do with him forever. Adventuring during the day while making love during the night seemed almost too perfect. They both enjoyed the rest of the night and slept well into the following morning.