A Giant's Cook - Chapter 5

A Giant’s cook

Written & illustrated by Frenchfeeder

V. The fattening of the giant

                       “The groaning trencher there ye fill,

                        Your hurdies like a distant hill,
                        Your pin wad help to mend a mill
                               In time o need,
                        While thro your pores the dews distil
                               Like amber bead.”

                                                   Robert Burns, Address to a Haggis

  With all the hot food left by the lake, waiting to be eaten, Mark and the giant enjoyed a magnificent feast together – especially the giant, who was so happy to spend the night with his friend again that he responded to his constant invitation, and ate more and more food with full vats of beer to wash it all down... Mark was given a good share of the feast, but he would turn it down and demand that his friend eat it entirely ! When there was only a mount of chocolate muffins left with buttercream pastries, it looked like the giant wouldn’t eat another bite. Mark was looking at him in awe – was he maybe, finally... stuffed ? The giant’s gut looked round like a ball, and quite larger than Mark remembered. This was too good not to make him keep on eating ! Mark urged his friend to finish his meal, walking around the muffins that were too heavy for him to lift up and bring to the giant’s mouth.

  Of course, for such a huge beast, those muffins were only slightly bigger than regular ones would be for Mark, but he was still hesitant, holding one in his hand at his cook’s persistant request. Sitting by the lake, breathing loud and slow, he was sweating from fullness in the fresh air. Mark could discern beads of sweat glistening on his forehead in the moonlight.

“Come on, giant ! Eat up ! You have to eat, PIG : There are eleven more !”

  And the giant grabbed a bite, then a second – with great effort on his part, and lots of encouragements from Mark, there wasn’t a crumb left on the shores when they finally went to sleep. The giant was tired and uneasy. Mark considered that, with thirty-eight vats of Burgstijn beer, his friend was probably drunk... It was also brewed with a most famous yeast in Mittel Earth – only second to the blonde beer from Sacka-Graez in terms of alcoholic strength, countaining malted barley, wheat, maze and hops – and therefore, extremely nourishing !

  Mark spent all night rubbing and kissing the enormous, fleshy pillow he slept on – that was part of the giant’s stomach, groaning in pain and working on digesting such an impressive load of food... This was like Heaven to Mark, who had not spent a night so comfortable in months !

“You’re going to grow so plump, so deliciously plump...” he patted his sleeping friend’s smooth skin, with an impish smile on his face.

  Early in the morning, Mark woke up – it was probably the first time that he left to the forest before the giant, who was still fast asleep, although his eyes looked dark and his expression wasn’t so peaceful... Mark left for the village, waking up the men to talk to them.

“There will be more ships bringing food in a moment. The first expedition should come from Pancia or Stockytown. Wait for them to be gone and away, then join me on the shore. You don’t want soldiers to notice your presence around here ! I will be there to deal with them, then I need you to help me.”

“What can we do to help ?”

“You will take care of the food, cook what needs to be cooked, heat up the rest and bring all of it to the giant in a large mountain meadow, by the Northern path you take every day.”

“All of it ? You mean... nothing for us ?”

“Right. You can have some. Of course. But this food is meant for the giant. I will stay with him and make sure that he eats it all up...”

  Soon enough, as Mark had expected it, ten ships came up – bringing enormous amounts of sausages and roasted, stuffed pigs with huge pancakes and omelets, chocolate cream cakes, sweet pies and beer. The sails wore the dark colours and coat of arms of Kastel-Pancia, so the people from the village showed no intention of leaving their hiding places... Mark watched the crew unload the ships and let them go.

“Come on, all of you ! We have work to do.”

  Mark climbed the hills and followed a familiar path in the forest to find the giant still comfortably sleeping, hands crossed over his stomach. His belly had deflated a lot during the night, of course – but now that he wasn’t stuffed full, Mark could appreciate how much fatter his friend had truly grown.

“Wake up, giant. Wake up ! Follow me...”

  The giant’s eyes twitched in surprise, but he recognized his friend and smiled. He was still a bit drowsy when he sat down in a clear meadow, as he was told to do. Mark had spotted the perfect place to encourage the giant. Standing next to him on a small peak, he could finally look down on his friend and tell him to eat in a proper fashion. At first, the giant only looked at Mark quizzically, but before he could tell what was happening, vats of beer and huge plates and piles of food were disposed at his feet... People from the village were coming back and forth without a word. Mark pointed at the first vat and a plate of pancakes and omelet – or rather, scrambled eggs, as the whole thing had suffered a bit in the journey up there – to urge him to start eating and drinking !

  Still a bit hazy, the giant took the plate in one hand and the vat in the other. But he looked like he didn’t know what to do with it. Mark started yelling at him, as if he had done something wrong, making strange gestures with his hands and face. Following his friend’s orders and instructions, he took a big handful of scrambled eggs and stuffed it in his mouth. Then he grabbed a whole pancake and ate it the same. Mark still encouraged him loudly to gulp down a second one, then a third one in single mouthfuls...

  In the meantime, the vats left one on top of the next and the piles of sausages and other delicacies had got higher and higher, up to the level of his knees – was he supposed to eat all this now ? The giant gave Mark a pretty anxious look, but his friend’s attitude was quite clear.

“Faster, giant ! Drink and eat up ! You have to finish all this before noon.”

  Mark was pointing at the enormous amounts of food in front of the giant, yelling at him to eat his way through it as fast as he could. Shoving whole sausages into his mouth without pause made the giant nervous, but drinking vats and vats of heavy, blonde beer lowered his resistance to Mark’s orders.

“There you go, pig... Have some more sausages, now. Faster ! Faster ! Don’t play with your food... Eat it !”

  The thick scents of food and beer were intoxicating to Mark under the rising sun. He kept on encouraging the giant with hard words, and mimicking gestures with his hands around his paunch.

“Come on, you’re eating too slowly ! Have another stuffed pig before that beer... That’s better ! Now, have a drink and move on to the sweet pies. We must grow you nicely round and full ! So round that you will soon grow FAT like a good PIG ! Understand ?”

  After another beer vat, the giant burped loud and long – like distant thunder. He was well on his way to being drunk, and Mark’s words were of less effect than his harsh tone of voice. Very soon, the giant’s belly was filled up to a respectable size and shape once again, and his hands would grab his food in sudden moves, more clumsy than usual. There was still more to go. Mark didn’t seem to quiet down. The giant’s heart was beating faster as he forced more food into his mouth and throat to please his friend... With some more time and efforts, however, everything was eaten and gone. The giant looked at the empty plates and vats, and burped another time, longer than before. He got up and left in slow, shaky steps through the forest, rubbing his aching, bloated belly, wandering aimlessly. Mark sat down. Mission accomplished : The giant was fed to perfection...

  Around noon, more ships approached the shores, coming from Stockytown, and people from the village helped Mark cook everything again. Then Mark went back to find the giant. As soon as he saw him, walking down a field, he made him sit down and get ready for another meal worthy of the glutton he had become... The giant was still tipsy and only half awake, so he followed Mark and was very docile all through lunch, even though he had to gobble overwhelming amounts of greasy foods and blonde beer that left him pinned to the grown, and forced to nap on the spot afterwards. Mark was rubbing his hands together in satisfaction.

“I’m going to grow myself the fluffiest pillow to sleep over...”

  For a few more days, Mark’s plan worked as he had hoped. From early morning to late at night, he would force the giant to stuff himself beyond full and even fuller, no matter how hard it was to go on... Every once in a while, the poor huge beast would be so painfully bloated that he resisted another round of Burgstijn pies, but Mark took no notice and demanded that the giant cleaned his plate – or rather the meadow covered with large pieces of meat and cakes in front of him. Mark would save his secret weapon for cases of great distress and emergency, when the giant would be too drunk to respond to being yelled at. He would just threaten to leave him alone... The giant always waved to make him come back, keep him close. Then he would make an effort to gulp down another full pie and stuff his already aching stomach. That trick never failed Mark, who didn’t hesitate to threaten the giant that everyone in the village would be taken away like he had been, if he didn’t finish his meals.

  These methods weren’t long to prove successful. Only a week after his return to the unknown forest, Mark could proudly look after the giant’s impressive weight gain and progress. For one thing, the giant’s waist had most certainly doubled in size... All that beer and greasy food had put a round, overhanging potbelly on him with a slightly sagging chest. His face looked nice and healthy, with good cheeks curving up to the corners of his eyes when he would smile. His legs and thighs were stronger than ever, although his butt had grown wider and fleshier, under thickening lovehandles that gave his whole body some new sensual charm. Mark was also delighted with the giant’s appetite, and the fact that he still didn’t hold his liquor.

  Of course, the giant drank the equivalent of two or three thousand pints a day...  He didn’t seem to realize what it meant for all the men in Mittel Earth, how many of them just dreamed to spend a full day like he had continuously enjoyed for a while. In fact, all that delicious beer made the giant worn-out, not contented. He would feel heavy and confused, fuzzy, uncomfortable – eventually sad... Mark had seen him cry from cramming too much cake down his throat, but there were probably other reasons, which he had failed to understand.

  One morning, there was so much food to be eaten at once, and Mark was yelling at him again for no reason after he had done everything he demanded, that the giant suddenly growled impatiently. Mark froze for a second – this was strange, quite unexpected... Then he encouraged him again to grab handfuls of pancakes and sausages, and stuff his face faster.

“Come on, giant ! You know you have to eat. Faster... Faster, you lazy pig ! Look at all the food there is. You’re mine, and this is all yours ! I’m going to fatten you up like the biggest prized pig ever...”

  The giant was eating, but he growled deep, angrily again. Mark wouldn’t take a step back. At this rate, they would soon get behind schedule. There was so much food for him to force into his giant guts, so much more food already on its way...

“Now, giant ! Drink that beer vat, and you’d better get ready to eat more... You will eat all this ! If you don’t finish your breakfast, I will leave you ! I will leave, and never come back...”

  This hit a nerve, somehow. The giant was drinking, and there was little left other than foam in his vat, when he suddenly growled louder – and threw it against the small peak where Mark was standing. The wood planks and metallic circles were immediately smashed into pieces !

  Mark was so terrified than he was unable to move. The giant slowly got up from his eating place, looking mighty and menacing like he had never seen him... A single blow with one fist was enough to crush the peak, unrooting the tree and bushes close to Mark, making him fall down and face first into a Burgstijn pie ! Mark tried to swim his way out of it for a moment, fighting against the heavy, creamy bits of potato and dumplings that made it hard to reach the crusty edge. The giant was already gone...

  It took a long while for Mark to stop shaking in fear. When people finally joined him, coming from the village or bringing more food from Stockytown – surprised to see so much leftovers around – they made him snap out of his shell shock.

“He’s gone... The giant’s gone...”

“What do you mean, he’s gone ?”

“He threw this empty vat at me – what’s left of this vat, now... He’s broken that whole peak down with only one fist. I’m pretty sure he could smash a whole mountain top without feeling pain in his knuckles. Then he just... left. He’s gone. I’m not sure ! I don’t think he will come back to us...”

  It was terrible news for the whole village. The children were sad when their parents told them about the giant’s absence. The women took Mark into their home, tried to comfort him and washed his creamy clothes, letting him rest in a comfortable bed. Then the men decided to hold a meeting, which Mark naturally attended.

“We are facing greater danger now than ever before... Without the giant, we will be helpless, if wolves or bears should approach the village.”

“Or soldiers from Kastel-Pancia looking for us...”

“I was including them as wolves already !”

“Who will bring water and take care of our crops before the harvest ?”

“Who will mend our roofs after a hail storm ?”

  This adult reunion was about to turn into a panic. Mark, still pretty shaken, was the first to come to his spirits and focus on the real matters at hand.

“Excuse me, but we should all be in trouble long before the harvest or a storm. Before tonight, in fact, if we don’t take care of the food coming from Stockytown, Burgstijn and Sacka-Graez – and get rid of it !”

“We’ll take care of it. You act as if the giant was around. No one has asked any question, so far...”

“Then what about all that food ?”

“Big deal. We’ll store it and eat it !”

“In the meantime, we need you to be looking for the giant.”

  In the meantime, the menace from Kastel-Pancia was of a different nature than people around Mark feared... Soldiers would never come their way, since there were no soldiers stationed in the West of the region. The remaining troops would guard the castle and train new recruits in preparation of an attack on their land.

  The baron had made a correct evaluation of his fortune, and printed three copies of his detailed estate and treasures. All numbers could be triple-checked, but the baron knew better : His enemies would always consider them as underestimated, and fantasize about his wealth, add secret income into the whole sum. They were so greedy that their imaginations would run wild and unearth coffers of gold the baron had never buried or collected. Being the richest man in all Mittel Earth was one thing. Being the brunt of nasty jokes and the subject of legends was another – now finally to his advantage !

  Methodically, cynically, the baron had devised a plan to bring down the economy of every other lands. His food offerings to the giant had been increasing in size to emulate others. Now the reports he recieved from his harbour surveillance patrol confirmed that expeditions from Stockytown amounted to eight ships, then up to ten ships from Burgstijn-at-the-Seams, and twelve ships from Sacka-Graez – this was all good news for the master of Kastel-Pancia. He was regularly informed of the presence of spies in the South, and their clumsy attempts to organize revolts and riots among the peasants. But that was a double-edged sword : The baron had exonerated most of his subjects of regular taxes to ensure their participation in the giant’s feeding. As for extraordinary taxes, the population was not fooled – there were too few knights serving the baron to collect them. When all this would seem to work in favour of Stockytown’s agents, the peasants were still reluctant to take action and fight. Why would they leave an established tyrant only to fall under an equally oppressive regime ?

  The giant’s enormous and increasing demands of food would slowly but surely ruin the peasants from Stockytown. News from the Southern side of the border left little doubt about it. The merchant’s guild had tightened its grasp on country folks and cooks in town – it was now with an iron fist that they collected taxes, in gold or food resources... The baron could be assured that open revolt in his lands would only spread like wildfire and be fatal to his enemies in the Council – the noble merchant’s guild, the rich families ruling over Burgstijn, the monks in their monastery – no less oppressive than he was, “making a famine where abundance lies”... His castle was a barrel of powder more than it was of gold. The first spark would create an explosion far greater than the people who had caused it wanted. They would collapse first, then the powers they served – and all the lands would be doomed into chaos. It would be the end of Mittel Earth. Therefore, it had to be avoided – at all costs...

  With only their own interests in mind, it was still possible that the baron’s enemies would make a stupid, self-destructive move anyway. So the master of Kastel-Pancia was always very cautious. He had foreseen a lot – but with so many sleepless nights, he had not realized how diminished he was since the giant had destroyed his army. His health had never been too good, but he was more resistant than many to face the cold or rain, as he ran on his horse. He was now too old and weary to put on an armour and charge. When the menace from peasants in the South became more precise, he gave strict orders to secure the area, but his nerves broke down and it caused him to stay in bed. 

  The baron was dying. Doctors came and confirmed that time had succeeded to strike him where none of his old foes could ever reach. No army had approached his castle – no embassy had been admitted – no assassin had found his way into the basements – not even the cold wind had entered his private chambers – yet some subtle, invisible enemy was now standing behind him. Time had found a secret passage, and Death was wandering in the hallways, waiting for him... The baron dictated his will to his secretary, then had three copies sent at once to the Council. The question of his debt for all the giant’s food would be forgotten when there was a fortune to be taken.

  He would have his revenge, even from beyond the grave. His will was a trap, showing his contempt and hate for the Council openly. It was the baron’s wish that only the one who had succeeded to kill the giant would inherit all his estates – and if that proved to be impossible, the last survivor in a heroic fight against the giant would be the only beneficiary. His fortunes would not be split between the other powers in the Council. The winner got to take – everything !

  When the documents were presented to the Lord-Mayor in Burgstijn-at-the-Seams, they caused a sensation. The baron was dead. His fortune belonged to them. It would restore the good old ways of order and peace for the nobility. The ballet corp would host new beauty pageants. Mittel Earth would know a new era of prosperity...

  But the Council, being called forth, was ruined by the absence of representatives from Stockytown. According to a messenger, their first secretary was not feeling well. This worried the Lord-Mayor and the Holy Father of Sacka-Graez a lot. Was Stockytown just ignoring them, to take personal action ?

“That’s impossible... This would mean open war !”

“Come on, the merchants’ guild wouldn’t take such drastic measures. You know the first secretary and his staff. Maybe he is just... temporarily sick ?”

“I hope this is indeed temporary. Since when doesn’t Stockytown answer when Burgstijn-at-the-Seams invites them ? This is simply outrageous !”

“Calm down, please calm down... We will send a co-signed message to request their presence here. If they failed to attend this next session, it will be clear that they are not worthy to claim for the baron’s inheritance...”

“Good... Good ! But we have to take immediate action, or this situation can only escalade and explode !”

“Ooof... I can’t eat another bite or my guts will explode !”

“Come on ! You’re only half-done with your plate...”

“I’d like to see you finish this pie. I’m afraid I’m going to choke on it !”

  The men in the village were having a hell of a tough time, trying to stuff all the meat, sausages and pies into their stomachs. There were so many beer vats next to the village that it gave the impression of a strong wall protecting them – but it didn’t protect them from anything. At least the beer wouldn’t spoil. Most of the food could be stored as well, but more would be coming soon, and all of it had to disappear one way or another.

  For two days and nights, everyone had been given an equal share of every meal to eat. The men, women and children had gorged themselves, greedily at first –forcefully, after a while. Some of the older men were getting a bit reluctant to go on overeating like pigs. The giant’s absence gave them even more problems than they had feared...

  Mark was wandering in the forest. He wasn’t looking for the giant so much than he wanted to be alone at the moment. Everyone in the village resented him for making the giant leave – and even if they weren’t, he was feeling guilty... The children were playing in a clear meadow. Mark waved at them and went on his way. One of the boys called him to join them, and he did... They had stopped playing : Their eyes were all on him, full of reproach – but not the same kind he would get from their parents. With pouty lips, the boy told Mark he was “not a good friend”.

“What do you mean ?”

“That’s why he left. You were not a good friend to him.”

“You think that’s why the giant is gone ?”

  Mark thought about it. He had only been going over and over the fact that the giant could so easily crush him, like an insect. Then they had been on such good terms from the moment they had met that he had just overlooked that fact. And then, Mark had only been focused on his mission to feed the giant, fatten him up. Why ? It was silly to follow orders from the Council. He had no intention to serve the interests of heartless, cruel people who had put him in prison twice, and sent him to his death only to get rid of him in these forests and mountains. But making the giant eat and drink too much for his own good had become so appealing to Mark that he had only taken advantage of such large food supplies. He wanted the giant to grow a fat belly, get round and plump, and more sensual – for him !

  He had never considered the giant’s feelings toward other people than him, or how he felt about slowly growing massive, soft, thick and obese... The children explained to him how they had met the giant, who looked sad to them for keeping all by himself, and how he had invited them to play. They always had fun with him, and he had welcomed their parents and other adults as his friends.

“So you’ve all been good friends to him, and I haven’t ?”

“You’ve only spent days forcing him to eat and eat and eat. You’ve never played with him. And he only ate because you constantly told him to. You should have been nicer to him, if he was your friend.”

“You’re right, I should have. But the giant has also been feeding you. All the food you’ve recieved from him...”

  The children around Mark were quite fat indeed. All chubby-cheeked with round bellies and plump, short legs, it looked like they had never known hunger in their lives. Some boys were already seriously overweight, too fat to run and play.

“What do you mean ? The giant didn’t force us to overeat. He’s only given plenty of food to us. We’ve all grown fatter because we wanted it.”

“Really ?...”

“Well, I guess the giant was afraid to hurt us when we got into his hands. He was afraid he would snap my body by accident, like a twig – but of course I was thin like a twig, when I first saw him. Now that I’m round and soft, it’s better to play with him...”

  And the boy gave his well-fed belly a good, proud pat – so did the others. Mark had an idea. The children would know where the giant was. They could convince him to come back. He lead them deeper into the forest, going North, as they all called for the giant to join their little group.

  After a long walk, they stopped hearing the birds’ cries and approached a high valley they had never reached before. The giant was there, working on putting huge rocks on top of the moutains where they had rolled down, probably after a lightning storm. He put them back where they belonged, added earth and water to help the grass and flowers grow again – then he would plant whole, unrooted trees and bushes. He would clear the ponds and streams of floating dead wood. He would take care of watering the higher hills, which only rain could reach...

“Look at him. He’s building the mountains !”

“Don’t be ridiculous...”

  But if there was such craft to live by, the giant would have to be considered a mountain-maker, a gardener of forests... Mark and the children were in awe at such extraordinary activity. Mark took a particular interest in the giant at work. His massive frame looked more impressive after being fattened up for a few days – so much thicker and bulkier... In fact, the giant looked more athletic than ever, but now his butt cheeks were perfectly round and full, his lovehandles curved out nicely by his sides, and a good layer of lard made his meaty pecs sag a little bit over his bulging belly, glistening with sweat. Mark also couldn’t help peaking at the most remarkable manhood anyone could dream of – truly fitting a colossus of his formidable height and muscle mass...

“What should we do ?”

“Go to him, children. You’re his friends... He trusts you. Go to him, call his name and bring him closer.”

  They ran down the hill, and the giant turned his head in their direction when he heard their voices. His face looked surprisingly sad and a bit thinner, as if he had been crying for a long time – maybe all night... But he gave them a large, heart-warming smile and approached them carefully, going in the lake, inviting them to jump and swim and splash around him. The boys were laughing and playing with him, sliding over his wet shoulders and back again. Mark was feeling kind of left out – a feeling he was quite familiar with... He had to make peace with his friend.

  Leaving the shadows of the trees, Mark got closer to the lake in silence. He only called the giant’s name when he got to the shore. The giant heard him, saw him and slowly stood above the water. He had blushed a bit, at first, and he avoided to look straight at Mark, who felt no less embarrassed.

“I... huh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, giant. I shouldn’t have yelled at you so much.”

  But the giant didn’t answer. Mark gave the children a look that was like a cry for help. What could he possibly do to make the giant forgive him ?

“Can’t you see he’s also uneasy ? He’s feeling guilty...”

“Guilty for what ?”

“I don’t know. For throwing something at you ? For making you fall into a pie ? If you ask me, you deserved it... But he’s your friend.”

“Oh ? well I... I forgive you, giant ! I forgive you for the beer vat and everything. Come on, it was my fault ! It was all my fault !”

  The giant extended his arm toward Mark and let him climb into his hand, then brought him close to his face and put a kiss on his belly and chest. The children cheered below them. They were friends again. It was that simple. Mark hugged the giant’s neck, and assured him that everything would go much better for him now – for all of them.

  In the evening, Mark and the children were back in the village. Everyone was so happy that the giant would be with them again, helping and protecting them. The ships had kept on bringing more and more food, and the place was crowded with enormous pies, piles of sausages, stuffed pigs and cakes higher than houses...

“How about the food ? The giant has to eat all that food !”

“Don’t worry, people. I’ve thought about it...”

“How so ? Last time you fed the giant, he left for two days...”

“I won’t feed him. No one will feed him the way I did. We will all eat our meals as if they were meant for us. In fact, we will invite him, and he will help us finish all that food, since there will always be such inhuman amounts !”

  The whole village agreed to help Mark make the giant eat, using that method. In the morning, the children joined him to meet their giant friend in the forest – he was still playing in water.

“I had never noticed how much he liked to swim...”

“You’re really foolish, Mark. The giant only feels the sun and heat a lot more than you do. Cool water makes him feel better.”

“Why would he suffer from the heat ? It’s so fresh around here...”

“Not for him, it isn’t. He’s so tall, and you’ve made him so fat !”

“You’re right... You’re right, I know how we’re going to feed our friend !”

  The children and Mark played with the giant for a moment in the lake. Then a group came from the village, carrying huge loads of sausages freshly cooked up. Then another group carrying vats and vats of beer they disposed around the lake – then a third group bringing more food.

“Look at that, giant ! All your friends have come to celebrate your return. We will host a magnificent feast today. Why don’t we move it closer to the cliffs ? Giant, you sit against that snowy waterfall... There’s a good spot.”

  The giant smiled and waved to the groups of people coming from the village. He followed Mark’s instructions and found sitting under the waterfall quite pleasant. Everyone was gathering around tables to enjoy a happy day in the mountain air, and share a rich, filling meal with their huge friend. The giant was obviously very happy to be in such nice company.

  Mark offered a toast to the giant with a good pint of beer. The giant drank a full vat and put it carefully back to the ground. Then it was time to eat – although no one put too much effort into it, asking the giant to help them finish... Their friend was always so eager to help and please them !

“Don’t get up, giant... You sit back and enjoy, we will bring food to you.”

  Men would use fine, long tree trunks to lift whole stuffed pigs up to the giant’s mouth, and encouraged him to eat it in large, single bites, so they wouldn’t have to hold it up in the air for too long. The giant thought it was really nice of them, so he relaxed and ate full pigs, beefs and sausages quite fast... This was working a lot better than yelling at him !

  Mark was beaming, in the middle of this. Not only did the people in the village thank him for what he had achieved, but the giant was stuffing himself with the most fattening pies without hesitating for a second. All the provisions piled up in the village were gone, pretty soon...

“I have to go to the Lake. Tell the giant I have a surprise for him...”

  Ships were coming from Stockytown. Mark tried not to look too well-fed or tipsy, as he exchanged the usual few words with the captain commanding the supply expedition. The crew looked especially agitated, this time. Once they were gone, a few men helped Mark put the food on their carriages to bring to the party.

“Look, Giant ! This party’s only started !”

  And the giant welcomed these new rounds of roasted sausages and meat, cakes, buttercream pancakes and sweet pies with a big smile, surrounded by the cheers of all his friends...

“I don’t get it, captain...”

“These are orders. You’re not supposed to get them, you follow them !”

“Why don’t we just attack Port-Lyfraim with the ships we have ? I wish we had taken those weapons in the forest...”

“It must still be too soon. When we get two more ships to join us, there should also be enough guns ready for us.”

“We’ve been hiding weapons for months now. There’s more than enough...”

“Don’t worry about our stock. The merchants’ guild know what they are doing.”

  The captain and his quartermaster were arguing as they could see the harbour of Port-Lyfraim, where Kastel-Pancia ships were stationed to bring food like they had just done, now on their way back to Stockytown. From their first expeditions up North, they had studied the harbour’s defenses by the coast, the possibilities of strategic strikes, the angles of attack and the weapons they needed. From the beginning, the ships and crews coming from Stockytown had brought and hidden guns in a small cave by the shores, under water, when Mark would be distracted by their captain – it represented quite an arsenal, by now !

  The Council in Burgstijn didn’t know what the assembly of merchants ruling over Stockytown had planned to do. Their own soldiers, although better informed, did not know about the orders they were about to receive. It was only a matter of a few days, for sure. The time was approaching when they would take over Pancia.

  In fact, little did they know that the merchants’ guild was facing a crisis far more important than those perspectives of war, from inside its ranks. The noble sons of Stockytown were currently refused the positions they claimed in the assembly by the first secretary, assisted by the chairman and all the official members. The opinions of the younger generation were well-known in town : Attack Pancia from the South and take Port-Lyfraim by surprise to secure their positions in the West, march up to the baron’s castle and join both armies in the plains, in a pincer move. With Port-Lyfraim under their command, they could resist any attack from other ships on the lake, and extend their conquest up North. The baron’s treasures belonged to them ! Then the Council could only bow, and accept their terms as they unified all lands in the East of Mittel Earth under their rule...

  The older, cooler members of the guild tried to silence them. It was dangerous to expose their plans so lightly, and make promises to the people that would be hard to keep... But the restrictions in food supplies for the University had caused the young landlords to protest, then the peasants had started to complain about the extraordinary taxes needed to sent food to the giant, arm ships and secretly send guns – the situation was already almost out of their hands !

  To prove that they were still in command, the merchants’ guild had brought all candidates running for official positions in the council to check their qualifications – as tradition would have it. The young boys stripped down to their underpants and stepped on the scales.

“248 pounds... Denied !”

“252 pounds... Denied !”

“250 pounds... Denied !”

“255 pounds... Denied !”

“244 pounds... Denied !”

“246 pounds... Denied !”

“240 pounds ? Son, you seriously don’t belong here...”

  They obviously couldn’t be given positions of power when none of them weighed more than the mandatory 260lbs ! Since the officials had cancelled the pie eating final exams, along with a few other classes and tests, forcing some teachers to retire and not replacing them, the students had experienced some difficulties in gaining or maintaining their weights. While they were still of respectable size, no political authority would recognize them, and their belligerant opinions.

  For a few days, that decision kept everyone more or less quiet. The admission procedures had been respected, all in good and due form, and they had failed to pass – but the active, provocative young nobles smelled the rat... Eventually, they offered to present the first secretary an official letter of complains, which he couldn’t refuse to read.

  A whole group of students entered the noble room where the merchants’ guild held its meetings. They almost stumbled on flower pots, which were pretty much everywhere on the floor. It looked like the people in charge of watering them had been fired too, because most of the plants were already rotten. Others were just festering there as their long, yellow leaves slowly detached from them...

“This present letter is a testimony of...” an average-sized, blonde boy started to read, then just stopped in the middle of one of those tedious sentences their lawyers affectionated so much.

“What did you say, boy ?” the first secretary asked him. “Why did you stop talking ?”

“I think... Don’t you feel really hot in them ?”

“In what ?”

“Didn’t you mean... Don’t you feel really hot in here ?” a secretary suggested.

  But the young man was unmoved. He clearly had something in mind. His friends were also getting closer, unsure about all this.

“No, I really meant that... you must be hot in those clothes. Look at this lace, it’s all tight around your neck. Why ? let me...”

  And the student pulled the long leather tape to open the first secretary’s doublet from his neck down to his belt – revealing, as a shock to everyone present, that it had been padded with hay !

“What the...”

“This is outrageous !”

“You’ve been fooling everyone in town !”

“You had us weighed in, when you probably weigh less than we do !”

  Everyone was disgusted by the guild’s trickery. The young student had guessed about it, considering the stink of festering flowers and how the officials whould need something to cover the smell of hay padding their clothes as they sweated during their long meetings. Everyone in the room was yelling at them. To avoid further scandal, the first secretary was immediately forced to resign, along with all executive officers and previous members of the guild !

  The young sons of the noble families in town were now in charge of Stockytown. Their first meeting was organized at once, and decided the immediate invasion of Kastel-Pancia. In the following morning, all able-bodied men would be called for combat in the North, or defend their country against Burgstijn in the South. In a few weeks, they would launch their attack on the baron’s caste ! The new guild’s decision was made public in the evening, causing enthusiastic manifestations of support and acclaim all over town.

  This revolution had taken everyone by surprise, but in such time of distress, the people welcomed its new rulers with opened arms. For a few days, the twenty-six new officials in town shamelessly feasted on sweet pies, whole milk and jam, so much that when the ceremony of honours was held in Stockytown’s market place, they all weighed easily more than 280lbs – and no one asked for further details about the unprecedented complete change in the Merchant’s guild...

  The debates among them in the Merchants’ Guild new council were reduced to a minimum, after a three hours long lunch meant to keep them focused on their duty as representatives of the State. 
  The following argument between the leader of the Opposition and the new First Secretary :

“Nuh huh !”

“Yuh huh !!!”

was recorded for future reference as an example of eloquence in political affairs. The guild was ruled by men of actions, who dealt in facts, not talk...

  All military positions in the country were informed at the same time, answering positively to the orders they were given. Only the peasants didn’t react much to such important news, but they were happy. Troops marching North only meant that they wouldn’t have to feed so many hungry men... They would become Pancia’s problem for a while !

  To prevent spies from reaching Burgstijn before it would be too late, the border was closed for the whole evening. That was enough to warn the Lord-Mayor of some impending, terrible move. But his own messenger was now unable to bring the answer from the Council to the new first secretary, while the Holy Father had already left for his monastery. The Lord-Mayor was alone in his troubles...

  In the moutains, far from such dreadful considerations and the people who had caused it, the giant was still in the middle of dinner, encouraged by his friends to finish another enormous Burgstijn pie. Night was slowly falling over them. In the warm light of roasting fires, the sweet scent of meats and pastries, and the joyful calls and burps around him, the light-headed, inebriated giant was feeling happy – truly happy, like had never been in his life of solitude.

  He was also massively overfed now – but Mark knew his friend would be ready to eat a lot more, and grow much fatter... After a few days, the method involving everyone gathering around the giant was abandoned in favour of more intimate, smaller groups joining him and enjoying a great meal together : All the men had gained so much weight and grown so large that they would rip what little clothes they had to wear ! Only Mark and the children were really faithful, almost never leaving the giant during the day. He would miss them quite soon, otherwise...

  After a few weeks, the extremely abundant diet imposed on the giant started to bring the most encouraging results, in Mark’s opinion. The giant had gained well, and the added weight showed remarkably on his athletic body. His cheeks were nicely full and chubby, his neck was thick and plump with a double chin softening his masculine jaw – making him just too irresistible when he smiled, with slightly fuller lips as well... His muscular arms, legs and thighs had grown thicker, with his smooth skin all buttered up and glistening under the sun. His chest was even deeper and rounder than when he was lean and hungry. His lovehandles had also turned into a delicious belt of flesh just begging to be grabbed, hovering against his magnificent, bouncing butt – and his belly, of course.

  The giant’s belly made everyone drool in admiration, including the children. He had let himself be stuffed and gorged so much, and he had always shown such good heart as he helped his friends with “their” food... It was only natural that he would be rewarded with the most adorable belly anyone could dream for ! His fat gut had become perfectly round and full, like a ripe tomato, proudly bulging and hanging over his meaty cock and balls...

  More than anything, Mark was excited about the giant’s appetite. He could finish everyone’s meal without feeling so much pain in his guts as Mark remembered – his poor friend had been through some really rough times, at first. He was ready for the food offerings to be increased to twelve fully loaded ships instead of ten, for every meal ! That would definitely make him fatter – and too hot for words...

  The giant’s appetite wasn’t everything. He was still pretty active, although much slower than before in his basic moves. He would eat fast enough to get to play with the children – after a good nap to let all the fattening food settle down – take care of some heavy work in the mountains, in the fields or in the village sometimes, and spend more quality time with Mark, who had finally come to fully understand his feelings for his giant friend. This was truly amazing for him – a thief who had never felt loved in his life, a man whose heart was only filled with bitterness, anger, resentment and revenge against those who had humiliated him... There was this magnificent creature, both huge and graceful, who truly cared for him – a generous, greedy but selfless giant – in love with him. Mark was going out of his mind about him...

  The men had to take turns to keep on encouraging the giant to stuff his belly full of food until everything would be gone – if they only shared three meals in a row with him, they would grow too fat to walk home before they knew it ! Mark would make an effort to stay longer. As it was bound to happen, the giant had treated him so well that the new clothes Mark had been given in Burgstijn were soon far too tight for his enormously enlarged belly !

  The giant would gently rub his fatter friend’s body against his chest or cheek, at night – and lick him all over, like a piece of candy, making Mark gasp and moan in delight... His friend was more passionate than he had expected, and all too happy to please him. He was eating insanely fattening meals ravenously, forcing himself to keep going when his stomach would be full. Mark and the others encouraged him to gorge himself worse than they would feed a pig. And so the giant was slowly becoming obese – unaware of the political powers ready to fight over him – unaware of everyone’s intentions toward him...