Against the Giants

silence. The mage knelt and drew a square of red cloth from his pack. The man was grinning, Lhors realized in astonishment. His black eyes glittered as he got back to his feet and moved up next to Vlandar. The warrior eyed him curiously, then shrugged and moved to the other side of the hallway so he could see more of the chamber. He beckoned for Lhors to join him.

The smithy was an odd-shaped room, almost a corridor that ended abruptly. One branch seemed to go around a corner north, the other east. Storage, perhaps. Lhors could see two dwarves, bound with enormous chains around their throats and one wrist, carrying pikes and swords in the direction of a-

No wonder Agya looked scared, Lhors thought. The brute he could see was much taller than the hill giants he had seen, and his skin was a glistening black. He wore only thick hide pants and a buckler that held a hammer so huge that even he must need two hands to use it. The only other giant in view, his skin also a deep black that seemed almost blue in the firelight, was the smith. Slightly shorter but much more muscular than his companion, he wore pants, a leather apron, and a close-fitting cap.

Malowan said there were only two, Lhors reminded himself. The paladin had ways of knowing these things. Only two. Vlandar seemed aware of his thoughts, or maybe his fear was showing on his face, because the warrior gripped his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. Lhors managed a smile in reply, then turned back to study what he could see of the chamber.

The hammer wielder waited just at the edge of sight while his two captive dwarves trudged out of sight along the southern wall. They returned empty handed some moments later. As they passed the giant, he reached down and yanked at the loose chain snaking across the floor, then burst into harsh laughter as the two fell.

The smith turned and snarled something at him. He had to bellow to be heard above the racket of hammers. Five other dwarves were chained at anvils, two working bellows while two others beat spear blades. A fifth sorted through a pile of spears, separating heads from broken shafts and apparently choosing which weapons were capable of being mended and which would need to be melted down and reforged.

Vlandar eased back a pace and cautiously pointed out to his young companion the several piles of weaponry between them and the forge. There were stacks of pikes and spears, another pile of shields and warhammers, a double handful of maces leaning against a wobbly-looking metal rack. Lhors nodded his understanding. Don’t trip on anything.

Across the hallway, the rest of the company was eyeing the room and the obstacle course. Malowan gestured an assent. Better if they don’tknow we’re here until we want them to, Lhors thought. He wasn’t sure he wantedthose two giants to know he was anywhere about, but when Vlandar stealthily eased his sword free and raised a hand, Lhors drew a boar-spear and nodded. He eased back to his usual place with the rangers while Malowan moved back into shadow to draw his blades. Khlened came forward to join him. Agya, to Lhors’surprise, also came back to join the rangers-either Malowan had convinced her orsight of those two monsters had. A thief whose best weapons were knives had no business in there. Nemis eased over to a place between Vlandar and the paladin.

Vlandar looked at his people, nodded, then brought his hand down.

Lhors and the rangers ran into the open, Rowan flanked by her sister and the youth. Maera threw two javelins in quick order, Lhors one that just missed its target. Maera’s were foiled by the smith’s apron and bouncedaway. Rowan’s arrow caught the second giant high in the shoulder, but her nextstruck the hammer and spun high, lodging in the ceiling.

The two giants bellowed in fury, and all the dwarves fell to the ground and covered their ears. The one giant drew his hammer and strode forward, bringing his weapon up to strike while the smith was howling for aid.

“That spell of Nemis’ had better work!” Khlened yelled.

Vlandar ran past him. “Rangers! Lhors! Get back! Pick yourshots and don’t waste any! Khlened, Mal, to me!”

The three men fanned out, forming a human shield as the two giants came at them.

Agya shrieked, then clapped her hands over her mouth so as not to distract the paladin. Even against such enormous brutes, Malowan still gave the smith first strike.

The hammer arced down, roaring through the air. Malowan leaped aside, and the huge weapon splintered stone as it struck the floor. Lhors swallowed. Anyone struck with that would not get up again.

Malowan brought his sword around in a blurring sweep. The tip pierced the giant’s thick pants. The monster roared with pain and fell back justenough to rip the sword from the paladin’s hand. One of Rowan’s arrows burieditself just above the giant’s waist, and the creature retreated in pain. Malowanthrew himself forward, snatched his sword off the ground and eased into line with the other two.

Khlened held his heavy slashing sword in his left hand, and with his right swung one of the bugbear’s morning stars. The second giant swunghis hammer, intercepting the chain, and ripped the thing from the barbarian’shand. Khlened howled a berserker oath, reversed his sword and plunged straight up, but the giant was more agile than he’d expected and was already out ofreach.

“Damn ye!” Khlened roared. “Stand and fight!”

Vlandar shouted suddenly, mixed surprise and pain. The smith’s weapon had bounced off a hanging chain and recoiled into the warrior’sshoulder. A direct blow would probably have taken the arm, Lhors realized. As it was, Vlandar’s armor was dented and his arm hung limp. Without Malowan bracedagainst him, he would have fallen.

The giant brought his weapon back to finish Vlandar. In that instant, the smoldering fire that had been building in Lhors suddenly blazed. Between one heartbeat and the next, he saw his father impaled on a giant’sspear, saw the blood gush from his father’s mouth, saw women and childrenwailing in terror as they were cut down or trampled, saw little Amyn as the life departed his eyes.

“Noooo!” In one swift, fluid motion, Lhors hefted his spear,stepped, and threw.

The spear sailed through the air and plunged through the startled giant’s throat. The massive hammer fell to the floor as the monstertried to scream and pull the shaft from his throat. Malowan dragged Vlandar away and deposited him next to Rowan. The smith finally managed to grab hold of the spear and yanked. The javelin came out, followed by a gush of blood that pumped with the beat of his heart. He stared for a moment as his knees gave way, then his eyelids sagged and he slumped to the floor. He did not move again.

There was roaring in Lhors’ ears, his heart was racing, andhe was having trouble seeing. He took a deep breath, and the room slowly solidified about him.

“Khlened! Get back!” he heard Nemis shout.

The barbarian swore furiously but began slowly backing away. The giant came after him, howling what Lhors thought must be curses or threats in his own language. Nemis yelled again, more urgently.

“Damn it all, I’m doing it!” Khlened snarled. “Tell him!”

“Not like that! Turn and run!”

“You’re mad!” The barbarian clearly had his hands full andthen some. As far as Lhors could tell, the giant either hadn’t understood theexchange or was making too much noise to hear them.

Malowan came running, his reclaimed sword a dark red.

“Do it!” he bellowed. “One, two, go!”

Khlened bellowed, turned on his heel, and sprinted back toward the corridor. He leaped over a pile of spears, but one shaft caught his foot and he stumbled, sending poles spilling in all directions. He managed to keep his feet and gasping for air, shot past Nemis, who was muttering into his scrap of red cloth. Once past Lhors and the rangers, the barbarian turned back, sword at the ready.

The giant was coming toward them, licking his lips and shifting the hammer from hand to hand. Suddenly, he stopped dead, stumbled back a pace, and dropped the hammer as a cloud of enormous bees arrowed straight for him. He yelped in surprise and then in pain. Swinging his arms wildly, he suddenly bolted forward in a panic, but his foot caught on his fallen hammer. He tripped and went sprawling.

Maera was ready. She took three quick strides and threw her javelin. It pierced the vulnerable skin between neck and shoulder. Nemis came right behind her and ripped a torch from the wall. At his order, Rowan and Lhors also grabbed torches and the three moved to contain the maddened swarm and try to drive it away.

The thick swarm buzzed in a black cloud about the giant, but the smoke of the smithy combined with the nearby torches was too much for the bees. Before long, they had all dissipated into the hall and were gone.

The giant was a dreadful sight. Bleeding freely from the neck, his face puffy, his hands already too swollen to even try to pluck the shaft from his shoulder, he wheezed fearfully. Possibly, Lhors thought, he’dbeen stung in the