Chapter 16: Battling Giants

I glanced at the two wolves as they walked beside us. The wolves had been accepted by all the elves quickly. They were surprised when we told of the strange troll living in their home but shook their heads and smiled when they spoke of trolls farming. The new elf stone had been put with the others where all could see.

When we left a couple of weeks later Thorn and Bramble came with us. I was still learning to understand them. Bramble was the female and practical while Thorn was male and prone to tricks. We made the long walk back to Blue Pass where everyone was surprised to see us alive.

We heard a tale from a ranger just back from the north. He said he had seen several giants gathering in what was known as the Quick. It was an area alive with hot boiling geysers and everything grew large year round. We left the next day and went north out of the pass and then north across the northern plains.

A day out of the pass we were moving through tall shrubs when Bramble trotted out and turned while letting out a soft growl. Aveline hissed, “Orcs.”

I followed Bramble with Aveline as she put her sling away and got her bow ready. Bramble stopped at the edge of a clearing with a trail going through it. She looked at me and tossed her head to one side before slipping away. I grinned as I slipped my pack off and got ready.

A few minutes later orcs trotted into the clearing behind Thorn who was limping and staggering just out of their reach. He was almost across when I put my first arrow into the last orc coming into the clearing. Aveline took the next and then I shot another. Before all the orcs got across they realized something was wrong.

We had killed a dozen before they saw us and charged. While we put arrows into those in front the two wolves were suddenly attacking from the rear. After another three arrows I tossed my bow and pulled my short swords. I stepped into the pattern with Aveline moving away. I slid a rusty sword away as my other sword sliced open an orc and I twisted and turned.

I stabbed one sword into the arm of another orc slashing at Aveline and twisted the blade as I yanked it out. I continued to step and cut and another orc screamed as its guts spilled out. Aveline moved behind me as I turned and stabbed the orc following her almost blindly while she sliced the one attacking me.

I looked around before moving to each orc and making sure it was dead. We cleaned our swords before removing and cleaning arrows. Throne and Bramble slipped away when we began walking again. That was the only time we saw orcs as we crossed the north plains. On the other side of the plains I saw a lot of signs of giants.

We were still a few days south of the Quick but carnage was everywhere. We found the remains of several orc patrols that a giant or three had ripped apart. We began to sleep at night and only move during the day. When we peeked into the huge valley that was the Quick it was to see giants everywhere.

There was a pen out in the center of the valley and it looked like a couple of dozen orcs were inside. I glanced at Aveline, “You touched the Elf’s Magic.”

She glanced at me and frowned, “Yes.”

I looked out into the valley, “Do you see all the lines?”

She shifted and I looked at her, “How do you kill a troll?”

She looked at me, “By using a trap or snare.”

I nodded and looked back into the valley, “And a giant is larger so how are we going to kill them?”

She laughed softly and hit my shoulder, “By traps or snares.”

I pointed across the valley, “See all the heat coming from those geyser pools. We use a trap or snare to position or cause a giant to fall in.”

I moved back before standing and moving down as she followed. I gestured to Bramble and Thorn and began sneaking into the valley. I found the perfect place for our first trap, it was close to a boiling geyser pool. Several large rocks and boulders had left a narrow space on one edge. I gestured to a tree on the far side of the pool and we went around.

The two wolves watched while we bent a tree and set a catch. We ran the rope from the tree top around the pool before pulling it out and into the water. I made the trap and set the trigger before gesturing Aveline back to the brush on the other side. She held the cord that would release the catch and the tree while Thorn and Bramble scouted for me.

The giant I found was sitting on a boulder pulling limbs off a dead orc and eating it. I looked around and the two wolves let me know it was clear. I stood in the clear and lifted my bow and fired an arrow across and into the giant’s chest. It bellowed as it stood and started towards me and I turned to jog towards our trap.

Every minute or two I would turn and wait or taunt the giant. I was careful as I moved over the trap and kept going. I turned and yelled as the giant continue lumbering after me. It stepped into the trap and the cord snapped around its foot. Aveline released the catch and the tree swept up and the giant stumbled as it was pulled to the side.

It swung its arms and bellowed before falling. I was running as Aveline came out to watch the giant sinking as it continued to struggle. We watched it struggle before it drown and the huge bloated body rose to the surface. The heat from the boiling water was already having an effect and I moved to pull the body closer to the edge.