"If you do not come back, I promise that I will do as you wish."
I only have a few more demands before we are off.
"Good. If I am not back by sundown, you must move on. Do not come looking for me, and do not let Em try to find me. We will not risk any more lives. The men do not need to suffer anymore."
Asking that means, if we do not succeed and our bodies are not recovered, the rest of the men are not allowed to bury us or even finish the journey that we have lost so much during, by finishing the fight that we started, but Yemi agrees despite what I ask him.
"I will try. Good luck, Aedan. If you do not become a king in this life, I know the afterlife will have a castle waiting for a man as great as you."
I smile at that thought, and, once Yemi has walked past me, he does something with each of his brothers that I have not seen him do in some time. Only having one arm can make it hard to hug, but, with the way Yemi presses his forehead against each of his brothers, he does not struggle to show them his love as he goes one by one. And, when he is done, he sees how I am watching and approaches me to do the same with me, where the sweat on our brows meet along with the final words for now, or forever if we do not return.
"Do try to come back alive."
He walks in the direction of his tent afterwards, so, while the rest of the men still have not woken, the five of us walk off into the light of the rising sun. Yellow dust lies under our feet, and, with where the sun is in the sky, the orange of it and the blue of the coming day's sky advance upon the black of the night and force it to retreat, as we leave one dune after another between us and our camp so fast that, by the time the mountain rises in front of us, morning is here in its entirety. And, to go with it, too much sweat wets our heads. A night in the cold and all the water we have now has spoiled us all, and made us forget how awful the sun can be no matter how long we had endured it previously, but, the closer we get to our destination, the less it matters.
What I have called a mountain looks less like a mountain the closer we get, for, rather than a continuous structure with a peak, what rises out of the ground seems more like just a number of massive rocks stacked perfectly on top of one another. Yet, the sight of it is still strange, especially when the color of the rocks is a perfect brown, so I even worry that the structure is the giant itself, like the one from the valley outside of my family's castle. Though, most of my worry for that possibility fades when the five of us can pick out where the sand dips down in the front and leads to a dark mouth, like the cave where we fought in the snow.
None of us seems excited to venture down the slope that leads to the cave at the base of the mountain of rocks, especially when it is so steep that it cannot be walked down, so, just to keep us moving, I make sure the strap of my sheath is as tight as it can be and then slide down into the cave by myself, shifting far more sand than I should on the way down like it has just been waiting for an escape to move like I do. Once I stand tall at the bottom and give the four of them some confidence, they all do the same, one by one, until all of us wait just outside of the cave, and, after a nod shared between us all, we head inside. The light only carries for so long, but, before it is entirely lost, I can make out where the massive rocks turn into carved stone, once it is clear we are no longer inside of a natural structure. Who made this, when, why, we will never know, but the carved stone, block after block under our feet and along the walls, is closer to the color of the sand than the rocks were, and, just as we run out of light to guide our way, I curse about how foolish we were for not to bring any torches until it seems like my thoughts are answered immediately, as disturbing as that possibility is.
Only so far in, we find the first of many lamps hanging against the wall, and we only have to spin a knob on the side of each to set the oil inside of each alight. That is almost too convenient, and, because of that, I only worry further. This structure cannot be as old as I think it is if such well-made lamps exist inside of it, and how they are still able to light after only-God-knows how much time scares me, just enough to slow my pace as we meet the first of many flights of steps. Each level has another lamp, and, with the way this place is constructed, I cannot stop myself from thinking about everywhere else we have fought prior to this.
The first giant we fought was in a cove, filled to the brim with half-sunken ships and an endless number of drowned sailors, so, when we fought it, I did not question the nature of the beast. All that mattered was how large it was, and how it had seemed to kill so many already, and needed to be put to rest permanently. Then, in the valley behind my old home, the giant attacked us, and killed so many of our own, that there was no questioning how sick or evil it was. And, in the snowy valleys outside of Gorm's old city, we watched as one giant attacked their walls and risked the lives of anyone on the other side, and, during the actual fight, we saw the countless dead and the way the giants lived in their own excrement. So, never have I questioned their intentions until now, just as I wonder why Gorm's map has led us somewhere so elaborate, where there has yet to be any space for a beast the size of the smallest of giants we have come across.
But, after we have traveled down so many stairs that I would not be surprised if we have reached the bowels of Hell, the sound of our breathing, following so much exertion, carries further. Just at the end of a short path leading from the final flight of stairs, there is nothing but black. Some of the light from the last lamp we lit, in this same hall, makes its way inside, but, after only so many feet, the light is gone, making it impossible to tell what waits for us here. But, because there is so much darkness and not even a hint of other walls in sight, I know the room we have found is grand, and I know we are where we are supposed to be, when nowhere else has had enough room for any creature so large to hide.
That is why, before anything happens, I put a hand up to the men behind me and demand silence.
"It is here. Stay quiet."
When none of them move or say anything in response, but for all of us readying our weapons, I’m certain they understand, yet that does nothing to give me an idea of what should be done. I only hope the giant is at least like the one at the base of that other mountain, old, stupid, deaf, and deep in slumber, but there is no way to know. Myself and the brother with the large hammer take enough steps to reach the edge of the darkness, on our own, but that does little to help besides telling me that we are safe to take a couple of steps. Though, with no lamps in sight, there is no light to guide any of our steps, and, just as I get the idea to finally turn around and grab some of the lamps since we have all been too foolish to do so, I hear a voice, so deep and bellowing that I assume it is just my own conscience until I hear the screams.
"Why have you come here? "
When it is done speaking, I look to my side and see the one brother gone, and only hear more of his screams briefly, and, as I start to panic, all I can think about is how he disappeared without me hearing or seeing anything else, but for the wind. So, as quick as we can, the four of us, still alive, back up to the hallway we came from again, and, for some sick reason, the beast we are looking for comes creeping out of the darkness with nothing but its face in the light. Pale eyes filled with nothing but darkness when it must be blind, and all the other features I have come accustomed to with these creatures that look so inhuman despite their human features and sagging flesh. He then speaks again, before any of us have the courage to attack.
"It has been many of your small lives since I have seen one of your kind. What a surprise... Come to die like every other man who has laid eyes upon me, I assume? "
It is only when I watch its mouth move in front of me that I am able to get its voice out of my head and finally realize how disturbing it is that, when no others have, this one speaks, and all too well. When one of Yemi's brothers lets loose three arrows into the giant's cheek and gets nothing but a heavy laugh in return, I then remember what we came here to do, and that one of us is still missing, and how, even though this one can talk, I am sure it st
ill needs to die, especially when the screams we heard from the one brother could have only meant one thing. Yet, we are all fools, caught off guard more than we already were, for, before any of us has another chance to attack when the beast's face is so damn close we could smell its breath, it retreats into the darkness and only reappears fast enough for me to force myself to move.
Two of the other brothers do the same, diving to a different side of the room, but the third one, the one with the bow, is gone, nowhere to be found. The only sign of where he could have gone is a large block that has come to fill the frame in the wall we came through, now blocked off, and whether or not that brother was crushed or just forced out of the room matters little when the rest of us are now trapped inside this room with the beast, and probably already dead.
Though, never one to give up, I move as fast and as far as I can into the darkness until I stop completely, watch the other two brothers do the same, and pray that I have covered enough distance and can keep my breathing quiet enough to avoid the giant hearing me, when I have a feeling it does not use its eyes to find us, not after all this time locked away in the dark. I then find my mind wondering why the beast is down here to begin with, in such a structure with such a clear path to the chamber it is stuck inside, and why I was insane enough to come here with no notion of what waited for us, or without any information from Gorm before he died and took everything he knew to his grave, but, faster than I can get angry enough to curse the name of a dead man into the open air, I hear another scream as something comes flying my way.
In the darkness, I should not be able to see what it is, but, because the metal it's made of shines so bright, I know it is one of the weapons one of the brothers carried. That likely leaves just two of us, but I now have an idea. It is nearly impossible to hold my sword up with one hand, as I back up into what I think is a pillar, and use my other hand to remove one of my boots without a sound as I put the bare foot back on the ground. And, while I pray that the giant cannot smell too well either, I give the shoe a toss and run. I can no longer see the light from where we came with the block in place, but I am certain that I am moving in the right direction, towards the other side of the room, until I find another surface that stops my advance. At the same time I touch the stone with my hand, I hear the giant slam its own hand down in the direction of my boot, and, since I do not hear a splat before the entire room shakes, I am certain it is just that. And, in response, the giant has something to say.
"Hehehe... Clever."
The compliment means little when everything I do feels pointless after I throw my other shoe, with no success. And, while I grow increasingly frustrated, the giant seems too because of the two puny humans hiding inside of his home, so, after a few seconds, I hear some metal clanging and then a heavy wind of stench and fire once it twists the knob on a lamp large enough for its hands, lighting up the room, and forcing the fire to torch the floor with its foul breath. Doing so illuminates everything. I can see what has happened to the room in past lives. Pillars have fallen and left cover throughout the room. Bones, armor, and weapons hide behind them where old blood has set into the stone, and the blood of new men soaks it all. I can see where the last of Yemi's brothers hides on the other side of the room, and, without taking a step, I can see the giant on the far end of the room too.
I know right away that the distance is too far to cover, no matter what other tricks I can come up with, but the giant gives enough other information away with just the sight of it. Its head does not move at all. Instead, it looks to the side so that its right ear can hear everything, and its legs look like they cannot move at all. Bent the wrong way, skinnier than they should be, I know the giant can move nothing but its chest and arms in here, unless it wants to drag its broken legs beneath its unholy weight, so, now that I am lighter on my feet without my boots, I have a plan so mad that I put away my sword. Doing so lets me run freely, with nothing slowing me down, and I only nod at Yemi's last brother before I am off, yelling as I go.
"C'MON! KILL ME ALREADY!"
That very well may be what happens, but I am not going down without a fight. So, while my bare feet hurt on the stone with ever-growing flames, I make it quite far, at least out into the middle of the room, but, faster than I can make it across, if that's even what I wanted to do, the giant's arm cuts through the air in front of me, catching fire as I planned. But, sooner than I am able to turn, duck, or move at all, the giant strikes me with a backhand that sends me flying back where I came from, so hard I slam into the wall and can hear and feel my sword catch the brunt of the force. There is no air in my lungs from both the giant's blow and my crash against the wall, yet, before the light from my eyes fades and I am forced to sleep for some time, I can move my legs enough to know that my body is not broken yet, even if I can feel my bent sword underneath my ass. So, while my eyes shut, I just hope the blade has not pierced my skin so much that I bleed out faster than I get the chance to wake up again and renew the fight.
But, for once, I am awake so fast I do not dream, or what I dream of only continues the battle, with details so magical it could only be fantasy. I first hear the sound of the stone keeping us trapped in this room shifting and men from behind it shouting. And, as they enter the room and join the fray before the last other man in the room, besides myself, is killed by the giant, the one brother who got forced out with the stone and the rest of our men come running in, led by the love of my life and my last friend. Em holds her sword high and shouts, Yemi does the same with only his one arm, when he is in no state to fight, and the giant is so surprised that it puts up such a poor fight that no other men die this day.
They all advance, fending off the flames, as I lie to the side and smile with what I think may be my last few breaths, but, once they reach the center of the room, the giant gives some fight while it grabs the last person it ever will. Between its fingers, Em keeps fighting, slashing with her sword at its wrist, but, faster than it can kill her or she can cut off his arm, she lets out a cry so loud that my ears pop, forcing me to watch everything else in silence for some time. Following her shout, the color of the light in the room changes from orange, yellow, and red, to a blue so bright I might lose my eyesight too, and, when every bit of her essence glows with the same color of the men we have lost after their spirits left their bodies, the blue glow reaches up the giant's arm, into its shoulder, chest, head. And, with one final cry so loud that, without any sound entering my head, I know what she does just through the sight of her mouth open and the vibrations that run through the room and every other person, including myself, once it all explodes.
The giant's arm is nothing but bits thrown across the room, and a good portion of its face and chest are gone too, while the rest of its upper body is peeled of flesh without a single shout before it dies. And, when I am able to pick out a dark shape falling to the ground, I put in enough effort to try to stand up, fall in the process, and regain my hearing so I can hear her name as I too scream.
"EM!"
What was a dream becomes a nightmare, and Yemi runs up to me faster than I can rush over to where I saw her fall, now that my entire body burns with searing pain in between each step. Seeing how much I struggle, Yemi's words are still positive.
"You are alive!"
He grabs my arm and tries to help me as best as he can with one hand, but I am so distraught I rip it away with words that are harsher than my actions.
"No! I was ready to die today... I have to get to her."
Yemi does not stop me from hurting my body more as I move in her direction, but his words protest my actions.
"Aedan, there is no way she survived that blast. I have never seen anything like it."
Just as he says that, I see her figure again, getting up off of the ground, but, faster than I can move any closer to her or listen to anything else Yemi has to say, the ceiling starts to shake, just as it collapses in on the silent corpse of the giant. Many of the other men rush out the way they came into the room,
while I keep dragging my feet, and I watch as the same stone that gave the giant its home becomes its coffin. And, when enough of the ceiling is gone, sand comes rushing in and buries it further as the day's sun lights us all, and I see her figure one more time as she fights through the falling sand to the top of the hole the destruction has caused.
Yemi's yelling is endless as I press on and more of the ceiling becomes the ground, but the sand that has fallen into the room, and seems endless, creates a stairwell out through the top. So, no matter how bad my body hurts or no matter how many times I fall going up, I chase after her with Yemi in tow, and am certain I can see her waiting at the top. That is until I reach the land above again, under the melting heat, and watch her run across the dunes back towards the camp. So, faster than any of the men come out of the structure the same way I went in, I walk off after her, determined enough that Yemi stops fighting me and helps me out instead, until we reach another dune that overlooks our camp and see no sign of her, no movement at all except for Yemi's wolves. That is when I remember what she asked me to do, to find her in our tent after the battle, so, once we have crossed the distance, I leave Yemi outside and enter. Inside, everything looks about the same, but there is no sign of her and there's something else.
All of her flowers are gone from their pot, and also the cut ones lying around the room, and only the pot, without any dirt as I look inside, is left. So, while I make my way back out of the tent, I finally notice that my waterskin with the flower she gave me is missing too, so it is only the sight of Yemi and blue glowing in the distance that keeps me from crying. He grabs me as I come out, and shakes me so hard I can barely see what I am staring at over his shoulder, but, when he has used up all the energy he has in his one arm, I am able to stare over his shoulder for a few moments and see her. She stands atop the dune we crossed to find this place for our camp, and, in between my blinks, her color changes from blue to the yellow of the sun when I can see her hair as it normally is again. So, after I have pushed past Yemi, I chase after her one last time, and, after I have struggled more to get up this dune than I did the last time I wanted to reach Em on top of it, Yemi and I reach the peak at the same time and see the sight together. Where the pit of tar once buried many of our men, the black is gone, as is the hole it would have left, and, with perfectly flat land, a field of Em's flowers now grows in its place.
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