Miklian and Timias parted ways after delivering the cart and ox to a stable near the western gate that appeared to be run by an elvish woman and her husband, a giant. The thoughts that ran amok in his head as he walked away from the stable and his elvish friend were far from chaste, so in order to distract himself he immediately went to the tavern Timias had suggested.
As he had been warned, the tavern was mostly a way-spot for the military giants who were in the city to protect politicians or high ranking officials. Miklian made a point to wear his hood up the entire time he was in the public area of the building, only removing it once he was in the safety of the room he had rented.
So few buildings were stable enough to have a giant-safe second floor, so the view from his window was extraordinary. He could easily see the majority of the city and since it was on the bank he could see the majority of the river.
It was still early afternoon, so he locked his belongings in the storage trunk of the room and took the key with him as he went for a stroll. Hoping to clear his mind, he brought his folded travel papers with him just in case he got lost.
The city was designed like a series of rings according to Timias, so realistically it wouldn't be too difficult to navigate, right?
Dusk was setting in and Miklian was absolutely, thoroughly, completely, and totally lost.
He had followed what he thought was one street, and he was certain he was still within the city walls, but beyond that he was utterly at a loss. The doors of nearly every house were shuttered and what little candlelight he could see through what passed for windows in this part of town obviously was minimal and only for very specific use. He assumed he must be in Lowtown somewhere, but he had not seen a guard for nearly an hour.
After a bit more wandering, he found himself at a dead-end that ended at the edge of the river. The giant leaned as best he could over the edge to try to get a look up and down the riverbank to maybe get an idea of where he was in the city, but he just couldn't wrap his head around it and there was nobody to ask directions from.
Just as he resigned himself to knock on a door and hope the inhabitants would direct him, a sharp scream from nearby made him take off running towards the sound. His legs bounded over hand carts and he neatly jumped over a horse that startled and whined loudly, but he was already at the end of the street and turning towards the cries for help.
Another turn put him face to face with a giant slightly taller than himself wearing the uniform of an enlisted soldier, a rank far below his own commission. In the arms of this giant was a petite elf woman, struggling and squirming to try to free herself from the unwanted grasp. Seeing a second giant, all colour drained from her face and her attempts to get free became more urgent and wild.
"Please! Please let me go!" She screamed, but nobody else was coming. Doors and windows shuttered closed callousedly and Miklian finally realised this was a regular occurrence.
"You heard the lady. Let her go soldier." His tone was cold as he addressed the other giant. Though he had nearly a foot of height on Miklian, the ranking difference between the two was vast.
"Come on, you can have her once I'm finished. I won't tell anyone." The other giant snickered as he raised a hand to hungrily part the woman's legs, turning sharply when his wrist was grabbed by the shorter giant.
"I said, let her go. That was an order." The authority behind his voice meant little as the soldier tried to break Miklian's grip.
"You're not my commander. Shove off!" He tried to push Miklian away, in the process revealing the uniform under the cloak that still partly shrouded the shorter giant's identity.
"No, but there's a very strong likelihood that your commander is underneath my commission. Who is it that's in charge of you? Who is your Commander?" The shouts of outrage and derisive questions began to pull people out of their homes, the natural nosiness of the public getting the better of them as some of the windows and doors were cracked open to witness what was going on. "It is Friensle? I'd bet it is. I wonder how she'd feel to know one of her soldiers is mistreating the people she's been sent here to protect."
"Y-you're not going to tell her anything! She wouldn't listen to just anyone!" Throwing the elf to the cobblestones below, he rounded on Miklian, puffing up his shoulders and bouncing his chest off the shorter giant's in a show of force. Apparently he still hadn't realised who he was speaking to.
"You're right, but she'll speak to her cousin. After all, her mother and my mother are sisters." Miklian hissed the words in the other giant's face before pulling his cloak to the side to show the ranking insignia on his chest. Still not letting his hood down, even in the growing darkness he could see the colour drain as the soldier realised exactly who was standing before him. He shuddered before dropping to his knees in disbelief.
"No... No, you can't! I'll be court marshalled! I'll be sent home in disgrace!"
"That's right. You will be." Miklian raised his voice enough that the watchers-on could definitely hear him, "As a matter of fact, anyone of the army in this area has to report to Commander Friensle, and I hear she doesn't take too kindly to those under her command who mistreat any of the citizenry. It would be simply terrible if those enlisted, or even commissioned officers who are known to cause problems like this, it would be so terrible, just terrible, if those names were to be delivered to the Commander by witnesses. At that point, I don't know what she'd do with that information. Oh! Wait, I do know what she would do with that information."
He paused a moment, letting the soldier kneeling at his feet finally see his face.
"She'd send the lucky ones to the General up north. The unlucky ones would be flogged, put in stockades, and have everything done to them what they had done to others. The really unlucky ones would be sent back home to their families in disgrace. At that point, it's anyone's guess what would happen to them. Isn't that just terribly interesting?"
By the time he had finished his diatribe, the giant on his knees had pissed himself in fear and a crowd had gathered outside their homes to witness the humiliation of the great beast that had been terrorising their homes and loved ones. Contented with the shaming of the soldier and the helpful warning he gifted the citizenry, he turned to the elvish woman who had been traumatised and injured by the brutish creature now being chastised publicly by some of the older humans in the crowd. Offering a hand to her, he knelt respectfully before the woman.
"I am so very sorry for his behaviour and am ashamed to be of the same race as him. Are you injured? Can you stand?"
She shook her hand, holding one of her legs that was badly bent at the knee and looked to be completely broken. She did not say a word, though he assumed this was as much for the events that had just transpired as it was for the pain.
"Is there a healer here? This woman is badly injured." None of the crowd responded except for a very young woman, barely a teenager, who proclaimed that the temple in the centre of the city had the best healers this side of the mountains. Turning back to the injured elf, Miklian calmly and quietly asked, "Would you accept my help if I were to carry you to the temple and pay for your healing? Please, allow me to try to make amends for the stupidity and horrific actions of my lesser."
After a brief pause, she nodded and accepted his help, crying out as he picked her up before readjusting her in his arms to better prevent any further pain. He turned to the young woman who had spoken before and asked her to lead the way.