Viola sat him down and the head of the staircase and explained the situation. The house they were in was indeed the home of a giant. A benevolent giant, known unsurprisingly to the townspeople only as "The Giant", had built this massive structure himself. The section of the house Bertram had seen and bell tower had been specially constructed in miniature to accommodate the "normal" sized staff members and guests. There were other sections of the house made even smaller to accommodate the tiny villagers, should they ever stop by.
The Giant had been away on a trip when the town was visited by a trio of younger giants. As is often the case with the young, they were looking for a party. They quickly consumed the town's wine and cheese supply and roasted all the livestock. One them drunkenly stumbled into the fire pit and caught his pant leg on fire. He frantically hopped around, batting at his pant leg, smashing buildings and spreading flames as he went. Finally he came to the rivers edge and was able to extinguish the smoldering material. His friends quickly caught up with him and rolled about the fields in gales of laughter, recounting his inglorious contortions. Behind them the town burned as the sun set.
The surviving town folk quickly retreated to the relative safety of the Giant's house, following the sound of the distress bell, so valiantly rung by our new friend. They straggled up the same rocky hill that would so nearly been the undoing of Bertram, clutching what small possessions they could carry. The young band of giants could be heard hooting and hollering up and down the valley until late that night. In the morning they were gone.
The exhausted villagers met the following morning and discussed their options. It was decided that they would return to the village and attempt to recover anything of value and search for other survivors. They made their way to the top of the hillside and silently surveyed the smoldering ruins of the town below. The morning sun hung low in the smoke blue air, barely a light hole in the sky. The silence was broken by a low growling sound coming from the smoke below. Then from the shroud of smoke emerged Bertram, scrambling up the steep hillside, clutching a satchel and overcoat. Fearing for their lives, the villagers scattered as he neared the top of the hill.
