Against the Giants

the sergeant and I will have come up with a suitable punishment for theboth of you.”

Glowering, Efoyan turned to go.

“Stop! I have not dismissed you yet.” The guard halted, andthe man continued. “Both of you will apologize to this young man… and makeit good, or you’ll both be mucking stables till next season’s snow melts.”

Both guards stammered an apology. Though their words dripped sincerity, they looked at Lhors with pure hatred. When they had finished, the man let the silence hang until both guards began to eye one another nervously, obviously wondering if their apology had been accepted.

“Very well,” the man said. “Efoyan, dismissed. Do as I haveordered you. Doneghal, resume your post.”

The two of them complied, and the man turned his attention to Lhors. “So, you’re Lharis’ son, are you?”

“You… you knew my father?”

“I met him once or twice,” the man replied. “But come. Youhave urgent news. Best we get you inside so Lord Mebree can hear it. I’m Vlandarby the way, captain of one of the hill companies.”

Lhors stared. He could feel his face heating. “Captain? I’msorry to be so much-”

The older man merely laughed, wrapped an arm around Lhors’shoulders, and drew him through the palace doors into a broad, high ceilinged hallway. “Trouble? You’re no trouble, lad. And I’m merely a captain, not thelord’s commander. My job is to ride the hills between here and the Yeomanry,making sure the villages are safe from bandits and the like. It’s only fitting Ishould escort you to the lord’s council chambers. He should be meeting with hiscouncil now, but if not, there’ll be men to whom you can give a full report.I’ll need to hear what you have to say in any event, if we’ve more to fight outthere than bandits and river pirates.”

As they walked through the passageways, Vlandar kept a hand on his arm, which Lhors suspected kept anyone from asking what business a grubby peasant had in such vast halls. And they were vast. Corridors branched all along the main hall. Now and again, he could see staircases spiraling up to upper levels of the keep. There were people, most in servants’ garb, carrying trays orbundles of clothing, stocks of linens, and other things. The place was surprisingly plain. No statues or fine hangings graced the walls, and the floors were plain polished stone. Here and there, black wrought lamps hung from chains. What doors he could see were closed, and the view beyond the windows was all of dirt courtyards.

A few guards glanced at Vlandar but made no attempt to stop him. The warrior must be someone of importance, despite his modest remarks, Lhors thought. Father told me about men like that. The best fighters don’t needto brag.

A boy came running up behind them, swerved around Lhors and his companion, then pelted down the hallway, a small leather pouch slapping against his back. Vlandar turned down yet another hall and stopped before massive double doors. Two more guards stood here, but these were older, grim-faced men who stood at attention with drawn blades before them.

Vlandar gripped Lhors’ shoulder and murmured, “They know me,and I’ll vouch for you.” He spoke to the guards, and one of them nodded. Theyboth stepped back and held the doors open.

The room itself was much smaller than Lhors would have imagined from the size of the doors. The ceiling was barely higher than the lintel, and a long table surrounded by a dozen high-backed chairs took up most of the chamber. Thick curtains in a muted green covered one wall. The opposite wall was almost completely taken up by an immense fireplace. High, small windows along the back wall let in light, but the room was still dim, warm, and almost stuffy.

Vlandar tugged at Lhors’ hair and leaned close to murmuragainst his ear, “This is the lord’s private audience chamber. Let me go first.When I beckon, you come forward, kneel, and bend your head. Do not rise or look up until the lord or I tell you to do so. Can you remember that?”

Lhors nodded again.

“You will speak when he tells you and answer his questions asbriefly as you can. Good manners say you must address him as ‘my lord’ each timeyou speak.” He smiled as Lhors swallowed hard. “Buck up, lad. It’s not so awfulas that. He’s a busy man but not an unfair one. You’ll do.” He clapped the youthon the shoulder and went forward, easing to one knee as he came around the near end of the table.

Vlandar spoke to the men briefly, but Lhors was so caught up in studying those seated around the table that he didn’t hear a word. Now thathis eyes were adjusting, he could make out a wizened little being of uncertain sex, his or her robe and close-fitting cap nearly the same shade as the dark wood of the chair. Opposite, a dark-skinned man in black suddenly leaned forward, drew an open scroll across the table and began rolling it up.

Vlandar stood and beckoned to Lhors. The youth drew a deep breath and walked over to join him.

It was easy to kneel. He wasn’t certain his legs wouldsupport him, and he was much too shy to look up. The third man-presumably LordMebree-spoke, his voice low and pleasantly resonant. “You are… Lhors, isit? From poor young Baron Hilgenbrand’s holdings, Vlandar says. He tells me youhave a tale for me. Come, lad, let me look at you.”

Vlandar gripped Lhors’ shoulder reassuringly and aided himto his feet. Lhors nodded then managed a shaky, “Yes, my lord. From Upper Havennear the baron’s hunting lodge.” He glanced up. Cryllor’s lord was a small man,his hair a blue-black, wavy mass barely restrained by a narrow band of silver. His near-black eyes were warm though, and he was smiling. His hands moved constantly, fussing with papers or his dagger, moving them about the table.

To Lhors’ surprise, Mebree chuckled quietly. “Go ahead andlook at me, lad. I like to see a man’s eyes when he talks. Tell me about thesegiants.”

Lhors glanced at Vlandar. He and the two other men-councilors, perhaps-were smiling. Probably at my foolishness, he thought. Butthe words were kind, and so were the lord’s eyes. He drew a deep breath andplunged into his story.

It had helped, rehearsing it so often. He was brief and to the point, and after so much repetition, it began to feel more like a tale he’d heard than something he’d seen or people he’d known. When he finished,Lord Mebree gestured, and Vlandar fetched two stools from beside the hearth. Lhors sat with relief. He suddenly felt exhausted and light-headed. He scarcely paid attention as Lord Mebree dismissed the other two and turned to Vlandar.

“Well, my friend,” he said mildly. “This is your warning cometo pass, isn’t it? Feel vindicated, do you?”

“No,” the older man replied. “Simply angry at so many senseless deaths. Ifwe’d gone after the Steading in force when I first heard rumors about thegiants-”

“If,” the lord broke in wearily. His hands seemed to have alife of their own, running up and down the silver chain he wore, folding it into one hand, shaking it loose again. “I am sorry for this young man’s people,Vlandar, but even you couldn’t have foreseen an attack like that. It’s simplynever happened before. And you know the cost of sending an army out. I could never have justified it to King Kimbertos.” He dropped the chain and folded hishands. “However, this is no longer rumor, and with the king here to see howthings are in the Good Hills… Well, it may be time to do something aboutthe Steading after all, though I still cannot be certain the Steading is responsible. It’s unheard of for hill giants to do such a thing. Thus far,they’ve stolen a few cattle or some of their youth get drunk and raid a town.Their chief, Nosnra, isn’t a warrior. He’s a thug-a clever one I’m told, butstill a thug.”

“I agree,” Vlandar said. “But the king will have little moneyor many men to spare if he agrees to an attack- even if the Yeomanry allows oneto cross their lands. The king’s more concerned about the Scarlet Brotherhood,or so I hear. He’ll keep his best fighting men ready to defend against attackfrom across the Azure Sea.”

“I will speak with him when we meet after the feast tonight,but I agree we aren’t likely to get much armed help.” Mebree’s fingers drummedagainst the padded chair arms.

The king? King Kimbertos was actually here in Cryllor? Lhors had never actually seen a king. Before his mind could wander any further, he focused on the conversation at hand.

Vlandar got to his feet and began to pace. “A direct attackis out in any event. Cryllor wouldn’t dare funnel all its armed men into themountains, leaving the city unprotected. And the Steading’s built to withstandany attack. On the other hand, we don’t need an army to discover if the hillclans are responsible for Upper Haven. Now a small but well-picked band of fighters would be able to get inside the Steading, find out what we need to know, and strike a counter-blow from inside the walls.”

“But Vlandar, how do you plan on finding out…?” He letthe thought hang.

“Nosnra isn’t that smart. He’s clever and cunning, but notintelligent. He would need written orders or advisers from whoever is behind the attacks. Maybe we wouldn’t learn why, but we’d