Against the Giants

tagalong was still tagging along.

“The lad’s impatient. He may yet give up,” was all Vlandarwould say.

“Well, better he’s out there than here,” Maera grumbled.

Lhors smiled but said nothing. Maera had already proven to be much sharper tongued than her sister. Rowan actually smiled and spoke to him on occasion.

Khlened mumbled something under his breath.

Rowan smiled at Lhors now, but her eyes were wicked. “Maera,I don’t believe the barbarian likes us. I wonder why.”

“Yes,” Maera said flatly. “Which is it, barbarian, that we’rerangers, female, or half-elf? Or is it just that we’re not Fist barbarianwomen?”

A tense silence followed. Lhors saw Malowan stand to arbitrate, but before he could speak, Khlened looked startled and possibly even embarrassed at being called on his rudeness. He finally mumbled, “All that,praps. Don’t know any elves-”

“Maera and I aren’t elves,” Rowan said mildly enough. “Ourfather is human, a warrior like yourself, northerner.”

“Oh.” The barbarian glanced at them. “Don’t know anyhalf-elves or any rangers either. Just that… they’re odd, live in the woods,talk to the bears.”

“Bears make more sense than people sometimes,” Maera said,and for once she sounded almost friendly. “To us, you’re the odd one. Who’d wantto live in snow and ice country?”

“Because the north is Fist country,” Khlened repliedpromptly. “Fist barbarians are born and reared there. Besides, better than tomelt in the south.”

“We don’t like heat much ourselves,” Rowan said. Silencefollowed again, but it wasn’t quite as stiff a silence as it had been. Khlenedsettled back and rummaged through his pack for a stick of jerky as Vlandar apportioned the watches.

It clouded over and rained during the late hours, but only briefly. Vlandar took the last watch. At sunrise, he had them on their way once again, both boats moving slowly but steadily upstream while Rowan and Maera scouted along the south shore and the Flennish guards took the north.

Lhors felt useless. He could pole, but he wasn’t strong enough to keep upwith Vlandar or Khlened. Vlandar put him to working the tiller because he could follow orders, but he couldn’t begin to understand how to read the river.

Vlandar seemed to have picked up river travel quickly. When the wind drove east to west for part of the afternoon and they were able to use the sails, the warrior brought Lhors up to the bow and began pointing out how to recognize shallow water, hidden rocks, swift currents, swirling currents, and other dangers. Shortly after, the winds died and Lhors went back to the tiller-still unable to work out their way by himself but easier with his role insteering the boat.

“There are hill giants prowling about,” Rowan reported atsunset when they picked her up along the southern shore, “but there is nowherefor them to cross. We’ll be safe enough along the northern shore.”

“That’s good to know,” Vlandar replied, “but we’ll still seta double guard tonight and light no fires. No use in tempting fate.”

Two more long days of hard work brought them to the Sterichcapital of Istivin. Lhors thought it a distinct step down from Cryllor. The market was smaller, and there were few goods for sale except food and weaponry. The periphery walls were utilitarian, and everything close to them stank of the cauldrons of pitch kept over low-burning fires in case of sudden attack from bandits, pirates, giants from the Steading, or other enemies. Apparently Istivin had many of them.

Vlandar kept them in the city only long enough to check with the captain of the city guard for any information about the Steading and other perils in the vicinity. While he was gone, Lhors helped Pferic and Mal replenish the company’s supply of bread, jerked meat, and other things that could be eatenwithout the need for fires.

Past Istivin, the Davish took an abrupt turn to the south and became narrower and more shallow. The current was slower, but sandbars and submerged rocks were more prevalent, so they could proceed no faster.

Two days beyond Istivin, they beached the boats on the innermost edge of a bend in the river and began distributing goods, extra maps, water bottles and various supplies in case anyone was separated from the group. The Flennish men turned the boats, then beached them again and brought out dun-colored nets to drape over nearby trees for cover. In the same way, they blocked the main opening of a cavern that could hold all the horses. Pferic and Zyb had the beasts inside and tethered to a line near a tiny stream that wound through the cave. Several paces upstream, there was a hole broken through the roof. Where sunlight came through the hole, grass grew next to the water. It wouldn’t serve the horses for long, but Pferic had brought grain enough to lasta while, and the Flennish guards knew places nearby where they could be grazed in relative safety.

Malowan spent some time reminding Pferic how to check the charm he and Nemis had concocted. With the tiny amulet, Pferic would know if he and Zyb should take the boats and horses and head back to Flen or if they should wait for the company to return.

Vlandar allowed the company one full day to rest up from the rigors of upriver travel, then set off with his band, afoot, going south across a narrow band of flat country that soon went into hills and then into mountainous country. The Steading, according to his maps, was three days away, no more.

It took all three days, partly because they needed to go to ground for some time the first day to avoid a large company of bandits, and again the next when three giants stopped to graze a flock of sheep-stolen, Lhorsthought.

Just after midday on the third day, Vlandar stopped the company in a thick copse of trees and pointed south. “See the two-pronged peak that’s covered insnow? The Steading is this side of it, just beyond that ridge.”

“Can we see it from the ridge?” Lhors asked. His feet acheddespite all his years of hunting with his father afoot, and he was cold, tired, and scared.

“No. The ridge is too high. I’m told there are caves nearby.With luck, we’ll be able to store our provisions and rest the night.”

“Caves,” Maera growled. “This near the Steading, the giantswill know them, too.”

“Yes,” Vlandar said, “but if the reports are true, there aremany that are more human-sized. Young giants might play in such caves if the Steading were not a fortress, but babes from that fort are not allowed to play outside.”

Khlened shook his head. “We’ve caves in the north. I dislike’em. Bears and worse make them their home.”

“Bears?” Agya said and shuddered.

“We’ll make sure any cave we use has a small entry and noback door,” Malowan assured her.

Rowan, who was peering out of the concealing branches to the north, suddenly interrupted their conversation. “Vlandar, come have a look.”

Vlandar and the others came to where she crouched and saw what had caught her attention. A lone figure was approaching them. Squinting to try to make out the details, Vlandar finally said, “It’s Plowys.”

Agya spat. “Hoped maybe a bear’d eaten him.”

“No such luck,” Maera replied flatly.

Vlandar sighed. “We may as well wait here. We can’t evadehim, and we can’t send him back. He’ll simply refuse to go, and we can’t tie himup and leave him, tempting as it is. Evade him, and he might ride up to the Steading gates and demand to join his company.” He gave the barbarian a hardlook. “And no, it’s no answer to let him do just that. He’d give us away as soonas he opened his mouth-or they’d torture him and learn of us anyway. I prefer tokeep our presence secret for a while. We might learn more that way. Besides, this way we may be able to keep control of him.”

Khlened grumbled. “Hah. Well, if we’re waiting, I’ll wait onmy backside.” He settled on a nearby rock, and Nemis sat down next to him.

Minutes passed as Plowys came on. Apparently, he didn’t knowwhere their company had gone, but he was making his way to the very copse of trees where they lay hid.

“Let me handle this,” Vlandar said as he stepped out of thetrees, waved to the young man, and then resumed his hiding place.