Against the Giants

by Ru Emerson - (ebook by Flandrel; Undead)

  “Vlandar, the kitchens are there, and there are prisoners— human ones.”

  “Hah,” Khlened snarled under his breath. “Lunch, more like. Poor brutes.”

  “No,” the paladin said flatly. “I will not leave them there to die like a peasant’s lamb. I dare not. Vlandar, leave me Agya. We will do what we must and catch up with you.”

  “We stay together,” the warrior said tersely. He held up a hand for silence as Nghora came up.

  She didn’t seem as tottery as she had earlier, Lhors thought, but neither Vlandar nor Mal looked worried. Vlandar asked the paladin to talk to her.

  “The chamber beyond this is open, with the Jarl’s throne at the south end. She says there are guards under cover of the dais, always on alert, and halfway down we will be able to see guards on the ledges above the main floor. However, not far from the entrance, there are stairs along either side leading up these ledges.”

  “Then we need a diversion,” Vlandar said. “Khlened. You and Bleryn, how’d you like to strut down there like you owned the place? I’ll send Nemis or Mal to shield you. You distract the guards, and while they’re watching you, we’ll be able to dispatch them without alerting the guards behind the dais.”

  “The kitchen is making a racket,” Malowan said, “that will help us.”

  “Good. Rowan, Maera, you’ll be the best at getting up the stairways unnoticed. Agya and Lhors, you’re backup, one to each of the rangers. Nemis, do you have enough of your beneath notice spells to use one here, if I send you ahead with Khlened?”

  The mage merely nodded.

  “Gerikh, you’ll stick with me and lead Florimund for Maera. And, Mal, if Nghora… ?”

  The paladin had been talking to the giantess quietly for some moments, Lhors realized.

  “She wants to go instead, Khlened,” Malowan said, and he sounded surprised. “She says, tell the red man if she walks out there, the guards will see nothing else.”

  “Yer mad and so’s she,” the barbarian said, a wary eye on the female who towered above him. She seemed to shrink back as he met her eyes. He sighed. “Ah, could be she’s right. Let’s be at it.”

  “Right.” Vlandar nodded. “Khlened, you and Bleryn stand watch here and be ready to come to our aid if the guards under the dais come up behind us.”

  The two companions looked none too happy about being left out of the immediate action, but they both readied their weapons and obeyed.

  As they entered the room, Rowan pointed out the stone stairs—a native-looking flow of rock down each wall and high on each side. At the end of each stair was a rocky ledge tall enough to hide a guard.

  Some distance ahead, Nghora strutted down the length of the fall. She might never have been a terrified, weak prisoner, Lhors thought. He glanced at Agya, who seemed to have the same uncomfortable thought.

  The massive female squared her shoulders and tossed a thick mass of hair over her shoulder as she strode forward. Nemis’ hands were moving rapidly as he worked some spell or other. The giantess walked on, unchallenged.

  Near the entrance, the rangers separated so they could work up both ledges. Malowan pressed hard against the west wall, his lips moving soundlessly, though with the clatter and shouting that echoed from the opening to the kitchen just behind them, he could have spoken his spell aloud and not been heard.

  Agya had gone to join Malowan, and they were behind Maera. Lhors was grateful when Vlandar beckoned him to the east wall, even though the stairs were uncomfortably near the kitchen. He felt more comfortable around Rowan.

  He froze as he heard the twang of a massive bowstring above the kitchen noise. That couldn’t have been Rowan’s bow.

  He felt more than heard something fall to the floor. Looking to the middle of the chamber, he saw Nghora stagger to her knees. As Lhors and the others watched helplessly, she collapsed facedown, a gigantic spear protruding from her back. Lhors clapped both hands across his mouth and stared. Vlandar tugged at his shirt and drew him quickly up the stairs.

  The rangers were nearly out of sight on both sides, Malowan right behind Rowan and Vlandar on Maera’s heels. Lhors tried not to be ill as he followed. His knees ached from the steep climb, but as he emerged onto the level, things were mostly under control.

  The guard did not seem very bright, and the space was too small for him to maneuver well. He was struggling to reload his ballista when Vlandar leaped on his back and pulled him off-balance. The giant threw him aside, but Rowan was set. She launched an arrow that plunged deep into the guard’s eye and into his brain.

  Lhors stared across the cavern. The ledge was bigger over there, he thought, but Malowan had drawn the flaming sword he’d taken from the Steading’s treasury. Blinded, the guard stumbled away from him. Maera finished him with one of her new spears, and the guard sagged out of sight.

  Vlandar led them back down the stairs and into the hall, sending Khlened and Bleryn ahead to make certain the dais guards hadn’t been alerted of their companions’ demise. He then sent the rangers back to be certain no one came out of the kitchens and caught them. The rest of the party, except for Mal and Nemis, retreated against the east wall where an alcove under the stairs put them out of the immediate line of sight.

  Agya sniffled. Lhors glanced at her and was surprised to see her eyes were wet as she gazed after the dead giantess.

  “Don’t seem fair,” she whispered and met the youth’s gaze defiantly. “Poor creature didn’t ask for this.”

  “I know,” Lhors replied quietly. “None of us did, nor would we have wished such a fate on her.”

  The young thief merely shook her head in disbelief and went to join Malowan.

  “You’ve a head on your shoulders, m’lad.”

  Lhors jumped. To his embarrassment, Vlandar had come up behind him and probably heard most of that.

  “You’ll do,” the warrior added mildly. He glanced up as Malowan came back, Agya at his side.

  “Nemis is keeping an eye on the dais. There are guards behind it. Both of us sensed them. They are alert and tense, but they don’t seem to be about to leave their post. The kitchens next?”

  Vlandar nodded. “We’ll take them now. How many in there?”

  “Three giantesses and four ogres,” Malowan replied. “No guards.”

  “Hmm.” Vlandar suddenly smiled. “Khlened, it’s time for a genuine berserker attack, I think. The noise won’t matter, and it may scare the cooks into surrendering their prisoners. If not, Mal can be there to free them.”

  The barbarian grinned fiercely. “Good idea. Give me Bleryn, though. He and I fight good t’gether, and more’d be in th’ way.”

  “Agreed,” Vlandar said. “We’ll wait out here to grab any that escape you.”

  “Won’t be any,” the barbarian assured him, and with an unholy gleam in his eyes, he drew the two-handed sword and strode into the kitchen. Bleryn was right on his heels, battle-axe in one hand and sword in the other.

  Vlandar and Malowan drew their own swords and eased around a rock that partially blocked the entry. Lhors and Agya followed on their heels.

  Khlened stopped partway into the room to bellow what sounded like vicious curses in his own language. The dwarf simply roared and charged straight at the cook, who shrieked, tripped and fell, then turned to scramble away on her hands and knees, but only as far as a rack of knives. Bleryn beat her to it, and brought his axe down on her arm. She howled in agony, collapsing on the floor in a huddle. The other two giantesses turned to flee into the hall, saw swordsmen there, and hesitated.

  Malowan’s sword burst into flame. The giantesses shrieked in terror and turned to flee into the dark to the north. Bleryn charged after the two, but Khlened swung the sword like a madman, sending steaming pots flying and sweeping piles of things onto the floor. At some point, he’d downed two of the ogres, and one was most definitely dead while the other crawled toward the door, bleeding freely and apparently unaware of Vlandar or Malowan. The paladin brought his sword up and drove it
into the ogre’s neck.

  It was suddenly, blessedly quiet in the kitchen. In the distance, they could hear whimpering and Bleryn’s roar, muted by a some turn in the passage. Khlened looked around then strode off that way. Malowan began murmuring—praying, Lhors thought—under his breath. The whimpering ceased abruptly, and moments later the dwarf came back, Khlened right behind him. His eyes were dull now, and he seemed barely to have the strength to get his sword back into the sheath, but no one would have dared to offer him help.

  Agya tugged at Malowan’s sleeve and the two sprinted across the kitchen to open cages and free the four imprisoned men. They all moved stiffly, but they didn’t seem harmed otherwise, and they were warmly clad. One, a tall, black-haired fellow with a grizzled beard, spoke briefly to Malowan, then came over to grip Vlandar’s arm.

  “I’m Jebis, out of Furyondy,” he said. “Member of the Lake Guard. These three men”—his gesture took in older men who seemed dazed by the sudden turn of events—“are from the high country around the barrens north of that. Frost giants caught me as I was riding back to my barracks. Mobry here says he and his two mates were hunting when they were taken. All four of us got hauled in here two or three days ago. We owe you service, but why are you here? It’s no safe place unless you’ve got an army.”

  Vlandar explained, giving them a very brief version of their mission.

  Jebis considered this. “Sounds mad to me,” he said finally, “but service I said, and I’m King’s Guard. I’ll help if I can.”

  “Do you know this place?” Malowan asked. “We could use a guide, frankly.”

  Jebis shrugged. “Not so well. There’s a throne in the big cave and a passage to the left of it, but a big rock blocks the end. There’s a big room past that with all manner of junk in it: weapons and trophies and such. Up from that, there’s another enormous cave with all kinds of giants. Looked like families to me, young ones and all. Guess whoever our guards wanted wasn’t there, so they hauled us back out to that throne and the chief came out—”

  “Came out from where?” Vlandar asked.

  “The same tunnel I mentioned, I suppose, but I don’t think he came from that big room. There was a heavy drape over the far end of that junk room, and this Jarl had a look about him that reminded me of my captain when he’s called out from his private quarters. I can’t be sure of that, of course.”

  “Anything else you saw then?” Malowan asked. “Guards coming from any of the other tunnels, perhaps guests? Anything, however trivial, anything odd?”

  “Odd…” Jebis echoed, then shook himself. “Was one thing, not so odd perhaps, though it struck me at the time. When the Jarl came out, there was someone behind him—human-sized and all wrapped in a cloak. A servant I thought then, or maybe a slave. But the way it stood… it looked arrogant. Even though I couldn’t see any weapon on the creature, the Jarl kept glancing back as if it scared him. And the creature just looked at him. I mean,” he added with a forced smile, “I’ve been here all of a few days, and I learned right off who’s in charge here.”

  “What else could you make out?” Vlandar asked.

  “Not sure it wasn’t just the light,” the man said. He frowned at his hands, apparently trying to recall something. “But even when the creature’s head was tipped back, what was under the hood was uncommonly dark—black, even.”

  Malowan and Vlandar eyed each other briefly, before the paladin spoke. “It’s possible that may prove useful. We’ll bear it in mind.”

  “Whether it is or no,” Vlandar assured him, “we’ll try to get you safe from here.”

  “Give me a sword or a pike, and I’ll help you best I can,” Jebis replied.

  Bleryn handed over two of his pikes. Jebis hefted them, tested the balance, and nodded his thanks.

  “All right,” Vlandar said. “Our way is south, then left past the throne. Everyone alert, and Nemis, stay up front with me. Mal, keep an eye and a spell on our back trail.”

  Maera stepped in front of him, Florimund’s hand in hers. “Paladin, your sort preach kindness. You cannot leave my cousin in this state! You saw his condition when we found him, and I know well that he fears to sleep because his dreams put him back in that cell or the torturer’s—” She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “He has done nothing wrong! Weak as he is, he has done his best to help you, and for that, our fine mage has forced him to sleep.”

  “A dreamless sleep,” Nemis began.

  But Maera waved him off. “So he says, Paladin, but I have been with my cousin this hour, and your mage has not. I can keep him quiet and I swear to you I will, if you but lift the spell.”

  Malowan glanced at Nemis, then fixed his eyes on Maera, who met his gaze steadily. Her voice was hoarse, as if she fought tears. “How can you allow an innocent to be so cruelly used, Malowan?” she whispered.

  Lhors glanced at Rowan. The ranger’s eyes were fixed on the distant throne, her lips set.

  Malowan looked at Vlandar, who gazed back at him without any sign Lhors could make out. “The innocent must not suffer,” Malowan said, very softly. “And so, what dare I, except to grant your plea?” He laid his hands upon the half-elf’s face, and at his touch, Florimund awoke.

  If he cries out, Lhors thought, we’re all doomed. But the paladin had done something to soothe the fellow, or perhaps Nemis’ earlier sleep spell had. The half-elf merely gazed around, then allowed Maera to draw him aside so they could speak.

  “You know why I cast that spell,” Nemis said. He looked angry.

  Malowan shook his head. “Yes, and I agreed with what you did. But would it not be better not to distance Maera from us—or her sister? We know to watch him, after all. And you and I have ways of watching that use more than eyes.”

  As the party gathered for a brief rest, Nemis went off with Rowan to guard his back. He was sure that he could get close enough to cast a spell on the two guards beneath the dais. They were gone no more than a few moments.

  “Sleeping like little lambs,” the mage announced with a smile.

  “Well done,” Vlandar said. “Take a few moments to rest, then we’re off again.”

  Maera drew the injured half-elf back into the kitchens with her, talking to him the whole time. She looked tense, Lhors thought. Florimund gave Nemis and Malowan a baffled look but finally shrugged listlessly, as though nothing mattered much. He still seemed unsteady on his feet and winced as the ranger laid a hand on his arm.

  “Odd,” Nemis remarked softly to Vlandar after the half-elf was out of earshot. “When I heal someone no worse hurt than he was, the healing takes. He was in pain, yes, but mostly cut and bruised—nowhere nearly as bad as some I’ve helped.”

  “I agree it seems odd,” Vlandar said. “You didn’t take his memories away, did you?”

  The mage shrugged. “I did what I could to ease his mind, you know. But whatever aid I’ve offered him since, Maera refuses for him. And he does not seem eager for that healing.”

  “I’ll tell you that ’e’s fakin,” Agya murmured. She had come silently up behind them. “Not my business, listenin’ to wizard-talk, but yon Florimund? I don’t trust ’im so far’s I could spit ’im.”

  Malowan came up behind her. He sighed. “Agya, I know, but not all are used to violence. Merely being taken prisoner would be enough to terrify a gentle fellow. But I had to waken him. Maera will not listen to any word against Florimund and besides, I have no proof against him. He is not evil, that I can tell.”

  Agya merely cast up her eyes.

  “Let us be done with this,” Vlandar urged. “Mal, Florimund is your watch—and Maera as well.”

  The paladin nodded.

  “We’re ready to go, then?” Vlandar added. “I know most of us needed a short rest here, but we have little time to spare. We don’t know when the guard change occurs, but we do know what the incoming guards will find—a trail of bodies.”

  “I agree,” Malowan said. “And we have yet to find the Jarl’s private chambers.”

/>   “Or his treasuries, though I would like it better if we found another scroll like the last one you and Agya found.” Vlandar beckoned the rest of his company close. “All right, people,” he began, “we’ve crossed much of the Rift, but there is still danger. Nemis has neutralized the two guards behind the dais, but there may be others, or servants wandering the halls. None of us know what we will find once we get to the Jarl’s chambers, but we must be utterly quiet. You four”—he looked at the rescued prisoners—“stay in our midst. We’ve given you what weapons we can, and if things come to a fight, we’ll welcome your help. But we have a goal that lies beyond this place, and our best way to get there—and to get you free of the Rift—is to use stealth. We are spies, not an army.”

  “We’re no army, either,” Jebis said quietly. “And we’ll do what you ask, so long’s we’ve a chance to escape alive.” He glanced at his companions. Two of the hunters nodded cautiously. The third stared at the dagger he now held, his lips moving soundlessly. He looked a bit touched to Lhors, who couldn’t blame the man.

  “Good,” Vlandar said. “Watch our two magic-users”—he indicated Malowan and Nemis—“They are testing our path and our backtrail for enemy, traps, pitfalls and other dangers. If either signs for you to stop or to be still, do so.”

  “We shall,” the hunter said. “Not many orders I won’t follow to get out of here.”

  “Sensible,” Malowan murmured. “Now, if you must speak for any reason, get my attention or Nemis’ or Vlandar’s and do this”—he held up a hand, first finger extended. “If it is safe to talk, the response is this”—he held up an open hand, all fingers pressed together—“and if not, this”—he drew a slashing hand across his throat.

  “Simple enough,” Jebis said. He rapidly ran through all three signs, tersely naming each.

  Vlandar nodded. “Good. Now, you can make out the throne down there? There are two guards behind it, but Nemis has bespelled them. All the same, be swift and quiet.”

  They crossed the great cave and passed the dais without challenge. Vlandar gestured urgently, and they covered the distance eastward quickly, entered a narrowing passage blocked at its inner end with one of the slabs of rock used as doors. Nemis spelled it to one side while Malowan tested the passages beyond for immediate danger. The paladin shook his head, then he and Nemis led the way in, leaving Khlened, Vlandar, and Bleryn to shift the stone back into place.