Against the Giants

“Speak plain, sir,” Bleryn put in.

Vlandar nodded. “Nemis can tell you better than I about thedark elves. I know only from tales and legend that they are deadly fighters and dire magicians with no love for any who live under the sun. Fire giants themselves- remember the two in the Steading’s smithy? They are powerful andsmarter than most giants. Beyond that, this land is deadly. The fumes from the fires will make you giddy, the smoke will make you cough, and the heat will sap the water from your body and leave you weak and brain-mazed. If we decide to continue on, we must be swift and keep good watch on each other for signs of water-lack or Rime-sickness. For my own part, I would like to return to my king with word that we found this drow witch and destroyed her. If not, I would at least like evidence of her hiding place below ground so that the king can assemble magicians powerful enough to deal with her and her underlings.”

“There is something else,” Nemis said quietly. “Eclavdra’sscroll. If we can find it, I can use it to get us out of here in an instant. A brief incantation, and we can all be sitting at an inn in Cryllor.”

“You mean we could go then-poof, gone like with that bar?”

Nemis nodded.

“Then,” the barbarian said slowly as if reasoning it out forhimself, “I say we go in, find this nasty she-wizard, and finish all this. I’llkill a few more ogres or even take on a giant or two t’be out o’ this place.”

“Aye,” Bleryn said, “he speaks for me as well.”

The rangers nodded in unison. Gerikh shrugged and managed a smile.

“Quit now?” Malowan shook his head firmly. “I think not.”

“I go where ’e goes,” Agya added defiantly, and Malowanpatted her shoulder.

“Lhors?” Vlandar turned to him. “What do you say?”

Lhors was none too happy about trying to sneak through a fortress of larger and smarter giants, but the thought of being out of here once and for all…

“I’m with you, sir. To the end.”

“Good,” Vlandar said. His eyes were warm as he looked aroundthe company. “Sleep then, people. You’ll need all you can get tonight.”

During the last watch, Nemis had worked up what maps he couldfor the party, using blank sheets from his spellbook.

“This I can tell you,” the mage had said as he passed aroundmaps, “no one who is not mad would enter that hall. Snurre is held by the drowto be a dolt, but a cunning one. We should kill him if we can. Some of his guards will still fight, but most of the others will flee. Not all serve him willingly.”

“If we can do that without wasting time by seeking him out,”Vlandar said, “then so be it, but our first priority is to find proof of drowinvolvement and where they might be found.”

They all stood in the cavern. Everyone was ready, but everyone also seemed hesitant to begin. The next few hours would either see the accomplishment of their mission or the end of their lives.

Suddenly Nemis drew the fire sword Malowan had garnered in the Steadings treasury and held it high. “May Pelor, god of healing and light,see us through the reek and the walls and know our hearts and guide us through this hellish place.”

“And may Heironeous,” Malowan added, “he of honor andjustice, strengthen our hearts, knowing our cause is just and right.”

“Kord, you who give strength and courage, smile on us,” saidKhlened.

Bleryn grinned at him fiercely. “May Ulaa, god of mountainsand gemstones, grant us all courage in dark places… and great trove.”

Agya brought her chin up. “Rudd who guards thieves, make luckours in there.”

“Trithereon,” Lhors murmured, “for my father, who trulyserved him.”

“I ask the blessing of Kelanen, god of swords,” Vlandar said,“that my blade protect us all and bring us all safely away.”

“Dalt, father of locks and keys, remember your servant,”Gerikh prayed, “and let me aid these who rescued me.”

The rangers eyed each other. Rowan gripped her sister’s armand said, “Let Lydia, goddess of music and daylight, hear me. When we walk inthe dark, let us remember why we do this: so that ordinary folk may be allowed to live happily and freely under the sun. Let us remember such good, simple things lest the darkness swallow us, body and soul.”

Maera merely bowed her head and said nothing.

It was the hour just after dawn when the party emerged, butthey could barely tell by the sky. There was perhaps a bit more light in the east, though that might have been another volcano. The fire giants seemed to keep the same pattern as the hill and frost giants. There were no outside guards posted and no one was in sight as they neared the pile of hardened lava and slag. Still, everyone kept under cover as best as they could, flitting from boulder to boulder and sprinting when in the open.

Nemis led the way right up to the main entrance, with Khlened and Bleryn bringing up the rear. Once they reached the heavy-looking metal door, the mage gave Malowan a small nod as if to say, “Do what we discussed.”

The mage used a spell to charm the door open. It swung in soundlessly, revealing a corridor lit by well- spaced torches. The hall was made of the same black rock as the outer walls, though here tapestries broke the surface instead of vents. No one was in sight.

Malowan fixed his eyes on the dark opening, whispering urgently. When the paladin was done, Nemis touched Khlened’s arm to get thebarbarian’s attention and sent his eyes toward the nearest tapestry. They couldsee it moving in and out slightly, as if someone sat behind it, breathing heavily.

Guard, the mage signed grimly.

Khlened’s eyes flicked from the mage to Bleryn. The dwarfnodded, and the two moved as one, running forward silently to throw themselves at the drape. They vanished behind it, and someone with a very deep voice made a startled grunt. The only other sound was the unpleasant crunch of the barbarian’s morning star crashing down on something-perhaps an unhelmed skull.

Bleryn leaned out to draw a hand across his throat. Khlened hung back long enough to rub his spiked ball on the tapestry, then stepped aside so Nemis could again lead the way.

The passage widened abruptly, turning into a vast hall that went at an angle east to west. Lhors, not far behind the dwarf, thought he could make out a broad hallway going north partway down and another going south. At the far end of the long, dimly lit chamber, Lhors thought he could see steps going up to a dais and an empty throne. The youth caught his breath as Malowan pressed past him and Agya and gestured for them to stay back.

Perhaps twenty long paces away, two odd-looking creatures stood, swinging black morning stars casually.

They have two heads each! Lhors realized.

Agya tapped his arm sharply to sign the same information a breath later.

The creatures were huge, built rather like men. Atop their massive, black-skinned shoulders, were two heads, and each head faced a different direction. There would be no sneaking past two such guards.

Malowan edged forward to join Nemis, who stood in shadow watching the guards. The two men conversed in cautious sign. As Vlandar came over to join them, Nemis signed, Wait here.

Before the warrior could find out what the mage wanted to do, Nemis strode into the dim torchlight. Vlandar gave the paladin an astonished look, and Malowan gestured, Wait.

The creatures might have been fearsome in appearance, but they didn’t seem too bright. Perhaps one brain was divided among two heads.

The creatures both saw the mage at the same moment and simply stared at him. Nemis moved out into the hall and turned partway around. Lhors could see him give the creatures a toothy smile as he said, “Well, if it isn’tmy old friends, Meghos and Zogry.”

One head each stared at him still, but the other two shifted back to keep watch over the vast chamber and its passages. Vlandar froze as one head seemed to linger on the shadow where they hid. When it moved on without