Against the Giants

Plowys saw him and spurred his horse forward. Crashing through the trees with no attempt at stealth, he vaulted from the saddle. He was still smirking, but before he could say anything, Vlandar pounced, hauling him off his feet by his shirt and throwing him to the ground.

Maera and Rowan grabbed his winded horse and did their best to quiet the beast.

“I chose not to bring you on this journey, boy!”Vlandar hissed. “You were not wanted, and you are still not wanted!”

Plowys stared at him, slack-jawed. “I–I-”

“Silence! I am on the king’s mission. If I chose, I couldkill you now for ignoring my orders.”

The boy paled. “You wouldn’t dare!” he managed as he got tohis feet and began to dust himself off. “My mother would-”

“She is not here,” Nemis said grimly as he came to stand overthe fallen youth. “We are, and your precious mother has no holdover me, boy.”

Plowys licked his lips. “You won’t do it.” But he wouldn’tmeet Vlandar’s eyes or the mage’s. He glanced at the circle of grim faces, thenfixed on the paladin. “You won’t,” he told Malowan, “and you won’t letthem, will you?”

Vlandar and Malowan exchanged tired looks, and the paladin sighed. “I dare not, if I would remain a paladin. But neither does that mean Iopenly welcome you. My order strives for purity, but few of us are truly free of petty emotions.”

“It is not petty,” Vlandar growled. He strode forward,leveling a finger at Plowys’ nose. The boy eyed it warily. “You will give meyour solemn oath here and now that you will behave as a fighter. You will cooperate with everyone here. Everyone.” he added as he named the companyin turn. “Your life may depend on how good a thief Agya is, or how good a jobLhors can do watching our backs for enemies. You are no better than anyone else here.

“And you are a common member of a company where Iam captain. You will obey my orders or the orders of whomever I put in charge of you. Should you do otherwise, I will order you tied and left on the spot. Do you understand?”

Plowys nodded almost meekly.

“Young idiot,” Nemis muttered as the youth went to tend hishorse.

Khlened scowled. “Don’t trust the snotty little beast sofar’s I could spit him.”

Vlandar’s mouth twitched. “I know. Why do you think you’rekeeping an eye on him for me?”

Khlened smiled, but Lhors did not envy Plowys his newfound protector.

4

While the rest of the company hid in a small valley shelteredby trees and huge boulders, Lhors joined Maera and Rowan in scouting for a suitable base camp. For once, Lhors finally proved himself useful. Aside from the rangers and Vlandar, he was the only member of the company experienced in hunting in the open without being seen. Although the trio saw no giants, there were signs of danger everywhere: huge footprints, here and there a tree that had obviously been felled by a massive blow, and the crude scrawlings of orcs and other creatures.

Despite what Vlandar had been told, there were precious few suitable caves in the area. The few they had found were either too small or were in plain sight of the giants’ hold. There were also a few caverns too narrow ortoo low for even Agya to enter.

After several hours of fruitless searching, they finally found a suitable site. Lhors went through the small chamber, making certain it had no other holes that could let in bears, snakes, or even nastier things. After the company moved in, Vlandar set the rangers to watching for enemy and gathering firewood in case it was possible to have a fire. While the rest of the party was busy settling in, Vlandar sent Nemis to see what he could learn of the giants’ fortress.

Lhors pronounced the cave as a good safety, but he was grateful that Khlened, who’d come in with an armful of wood, also checked thedark corners and agreed with him. “No places for anything bigger’n a bug to getin. And I found a chimney-bit of a hole going west with the wind blowing thatway, as well. We could have a fire for hot tea or soup, and the smoke won’t blowtoward the Steading. Shouldn’t come out anywhere about at all, in fact.”

“I’m still not sure about fire,” Vlandar said, “but perhapsNemis or Mal can keep it from unfriendly noses. I admit I’d welcome a hot mealor at least a warm drink.”

Not long after full dark, Nemis and Malowan were hard at work on a fire. Mal constructed a pile of very dry sticks while Nemis muttered a spell over the chimney hole. The air around it sparkled briefly, and smoke that began a pale gray just above the pile of kindling turned clear as it swirled through the mage’s fingers. Suddenly, Lhors couldn’t smell it either.

Maera, to Lhors’ surprise, began preparing a soup from thedry packets they all carried, and to his mind it was as good smelling as anything Gran had made.

Gran, he thought sadly. I wonder where she is tonight. At the moment, she seemed very far away, almost like someone from another life. That was good. He would mourn his people properly later, once he’d done his best toavenge them.

“All right,” Vlandar announced to everyone as the last of hiscompany settled down. “Remember that we need to change our regular patterns.Hill giants are active at night, mostly. By daybreak, all but a few servants or guards will be sleeping or passed out. Remember that we are infiltrating to learn what we can and wreak any damage we can. We need information. Remember that this”-he held up his interior map-“is blank beyond the entry and the guardtower. We know nothing about how the Steading is set up inside. There may be traps, and there will certainly be guards. We need to know what’s beyond theentry, so I’m sending Mal and Agya in first.”

“What?” Plowys blurted. “Why?”

“Mal’s a paladin and has protection we don’t: he can senseevil. And Agya is a thief.”

“Was a thief,” Malowan interjected mildly.

Agya wrinkled her nose but said nothing.

Vlandar shrugged. “She has talent, and she uses it for ourbenefit. I tested her myself. She has a phenomenal memory, and she can penetrate a maze and map it in detail afterward.”

“’Tis no talent. Was needed, back in th’ city,” the girlmumbled with a sidelong glance at her mentor.

“She’ll fill in the map for me, and I will draw it out forthe rest of us,” Vlandar said.

“And if Malowan and Agya are caught?” Maera demanded sharply.

“It is a risk,” the warrior conceded, “but not so much as allof us going into an unfamiliar place. What if one of us opens the wrong door and walks into the barracks just as a company is arming to go plunder?” Vlandar eyedthem all. “If we have to fight, we are no longer gathering information, and itis vital we learn why the Steading giants are attacking and razing villages and if they intend to go against cities next. Remember that we’re allowed to keeptreasure only if we find out what’s going on and why.”

Nemis stepped forward, his hands loosely clasped before him. “I can tell you this much,” he said quietly, “I have heard rumors that there isanother force that uses the giants for its own ends.”

Malowan eyed him keenly. “And you know this… how?”

Nemis shrugged. “Several weeks ago, I saw raiders coming backfrom up near the Stark Mounds, and they were a mixed company, which is unusual. Hill giants are unmistakable by their bulk, as cloud giants are by their height and fire giants by their coal-black skin. I was nearer than I would have liked to be-close enough that I could hear some of their speech. One hill giant waslaughing about orders-some sort of in-joke probably, and one of the fire giantstold him to be still, that ‘the Masters’ would have them all killed for such aslip.”

“There was more than one kind of giant in my village, Ithink,” Lhors said. “Some were much taller than others. There were many kinds ofarmor and weapons, but I saw none who were very dark-skinned.”

“Well,” Malowan said, “before coming in, Nemis and I went outto view the fort, and I can tell you what we have here. The Steading is set low in one of those nasty, damp depressions. All the hills may be dry, but there will be rain in the hollow. Fog is a near constant. That is to our advantage, since the guards won’t be able to see us,