Taming the Elements: Elwin Escari Chronicles: Volume 1 (49 page)

“I’ll have a fire built before you return,” Feffer said. “I am glad we met you, Daki.”

Daki’s smile was as wide as his face. “I am glad our fates intertwined as well.” In the next moment his face was serious once more. “If you see any giants, come back to the cave. Even they would have trouble moving this boulder.”

Feffer’s smile faded as well. He regarded the massive boulder. “They can move the boulder?”

Daki looked at it. “Well, it would take several of them.”

Feffer started picking up wood, mumbling beneath his breath. Elwin would wager a farm to a sheep that he was cursing, but he found himself staring at the boulder.

He shook his head. “I am pretty sure that I don’t want to meet anything that can move
that
.”

“They are poor fighters,” Daki whispered. “But one strike from a giant’s fist can crush your skull. They are strong but clumsy.”

“You have really fought a giant?”

Daki nodded, “I have crossed paths with a giant.”

“What happened?”

“He tried to kill me,” Daki said. “But I killed him instead.”

“Do they really send you to hunt them so young?”

“Aye,” Daki said. “Now, we can speak more later. I must find the game before the trail is cold.”

Elwin watched his new companion disappear into the forest. It took him a moment to realize he was alone with Haven. Feffer had gone for wood, but how did the bear slip away unnoticed?

He looked at the boulder again. Giants. Something else that had only existed in stories before now. How many creatures and beasts would he find that were no longer just a story?

He took a deep breath and began to gather kindling.

Feffer moved over the brush, clenching his teeth at every soft scuff or rustle that he or his companions made. His heart pounded in his chest like a hammer on a forge as he crept along the line of the ridge, careful to keep his head below the dirt and rocks. His hands and knees shook from the effort. And, despite his best efforts to avoid them, he felt like all the dried twigs of the forest littered his path.

In front of him, Daki led Haven by the reins. The horse had her head low as she took each slow step forward. What had Daki said to Haven to make her move so quietly? Feffer had never even heard of a stable master capable of controlling a horse like Daki could. He would wring secrets out of the Chai Tu Naruo, if he had to do it with his fingers around the stubborn boy’s neck.

He glanced over his shoulder at Elwin. Just above the foliage, Elwin floated parallel to the ground. The twigs and leaves rustled as he moved over them. Feffer wanted to curse. He couldn’t even
fly
quietly, but thank the Lifebringer, Elwin
could
fly. If they had to rely on Elwin’s stealth, they would have been dead, long since.

Even Elwin wasn’t as loud as Taego. Behind Elwin, the bear shuffled on his large belly. In the forest and on the rocks, the bear had made little noise, but Taego was too big to lumber below the ridge line on all fours.

Together, the noises from his companions seemed like a cacophony of voices screaming, “
Come eat me Mr. Giant.
”

On the other side of the ridge a mirthful laugh, too loud to have come from normal size lungs, rose above the sound of the distant waterfall. The laughter, if it had not been so
big
, sounded as if it could have come from a young boy.

The Lifebringer save him. Before this moment, Feffer had been beginning to believe he might actually live through all of this. He could have taken his adventures back to his squad, and maybe someday long from now, he could tell the same stories to children around a fire. Like Poppe.

The closer he got to Goldspire, the more he thought about them, but who was he kidding? Gurndol was never going to believe this tale. None of his squad would, not even Fandar. And the giant would be the least of it all. But, it would be good to see them all again. Maybe Sir Gibbins wouldn’t make him do extra drills for taking too long of a furlough.

He would never admit it aloud, but if he lived, it would be thanks to Daki. He and Elwin would have never even made it this far without him. And Taego. It was good to have a bear on their side. Though he wasn’t sure what a bear could do against a giant.

Once more, Feffer peeked over the ridge.

To the east, water fell from the mountain’s bend into the mouth of the river and pushed the water west alongside the mountain. If he tuned out the sound of breaking twigs and freakish laughter, Feffer could hear the soft splatter of the falling water.

Their ridge sloped twenty paces to a sandy embankment that ran alongside the river not more than ten paces wide. Beyond the riverbank on the other side, a cliff stretched into the sky. Feffer could see a small crevice in the side of the cliff face that a normal-sized human could fit into. Maybe even a horse and bear.

His eyes found the source of the eerie laugh, and his knees began to shake again.

By the embankment on this side of the river, a LARGE humanoid sat with its back to the ridge. Its arms moved as if the giant played with something in front of it. The giant let out another deep cackle and stood up.

It looked like an overgrown child. Dark hair encased a boyish face. If it had been a normal size, Feffer would guess that he was not more than ten or eleven years of age. It wore brown trousers and a white jerkin. Its legs were as thick as the Redwood trees, and its arms weren’t much smaller.

Elwin whispered from behind him, “Keep moving.”

It took Feffer a moment to force his legs into motion. He continued to peek over the ridge as he crawled.

Even at this distance, the child giant was as tall as the Scented Rose Inn. Feffer would have been surprised if he could reach up and touch its knees. Its knees! And it was a
child
? Feffer didn’t want to see an adult one of these.

The giant gave a slight kick to the thing in front of it. When the giant’s toy bounced to a stop, Feffer recognized the bloody mass as an injured doe. The deer’s hind legs had been twisted backwards. It tried to crawl away with its front legs, but when it got too far from the giant, he grabbed its injured leg and pull it back, laughing.

With a sudden jerk, the giant picked up the deer by one of its front legs and dangled it for several moments. Then, the giant snapped the leg with his thumb and forefinger. He laughed with the hysteria of a madman as the deer snorted and wheezed. The poor thing squirmed against the giant’s grasp.

The giant laughed even harder and dropped the deer. Using its head and one working leg, the deer crawled toward the river. The giant picked up a tree that had been ripped up from the roots. It looked like a club in the giant’s hand. It used the club to push the deer toward the water. Then, he stepped on the back legs, while pushing the deer’s face into the water.

Feffer felt his fear of the giant dissipate, and he grabbed the hilt of his sword. The Lifebringer hadn’t made such evil creatures. This thing came straight from the abyss.

Snap.

Feffer froze, as he felt the loud crunch beneath his knee. Daki stopped moving in front of him.

Feffer peeked back over the ridge. The giant was looking in their direction. Without thinking about it, he moved his head under cover, as fast as possible.

He held his breath, hoping that it hadn’t seen him.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. The ground shook beneath him.

Haven whinnied and reared. Feffer tried to grab her reins, but she bucked him. Feffer reached for the saddle, but he only got a hold of the backpack as Haven began to gallop in the opposite direction. The backpack came loose, knocking Feffer into the dirt. Standing as if the abyss had come for him, Feffer shoved his arms through the straps and slung the pack onto his back.

Daki stood and unsheathed his swords, holding them in a reverse grip. They curved around the length of his forearm just past his elbow. “Elwin, you and Feffer take cover.”

“The Lifebringer curse me!” Feffer said, drawing his sword.

Elwin’s eyes widened, and he did not respond.

The child giant covered several normal-sized paces in one stride. Five strides at most and it would be on top of him. Feffer’s anger vanished, but he did not allow himself to panic. A quick look around, and he determined the best chance for survival would be to use the trees for cover. Maybe, they could tire the thing out and get away.

He opened his mouth to suggest as much but stopped and gaped at the Chai Tu Naruo. Daki dove over the ridge and leapt from his forward somersault into a run,
toward
the giant.

“He’s gone mad!” Feffer said. “What is he doing?”

Taego roared behind him, and Feffer jumped three feet high. “Thumping bear!”

Feffer grabbed Elwin’s shoulder, but Elwin just stared at the giant, still not moving. Feffer shook him. “Snap out of it! We need to move!” He tugged on Elwin’s arm.

Elwin’s face snapped to Feffer, as if surprised to see him there. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

“Come on,” Feffer said. He turned to run, looking over his shoulder to make sure Elwin followed. He flew behind Feffer as if in a daze. Feffer ran next to the ridge line, and he could see Daki and the giant clearly.

It still carried the tree and raised it like a club over its head as it ran toward Daki. A look of pure glee filled its eyes, and its mouth twisted into a smile.

“Human smash!” Its booming words were slurred and unpronounced. It laughed as it ran.

The tree swung down, making a loud crash into the ground where Daki had been.

Daki dove through its legs, slicing wide with both of his blades just below each knee. The giant howled in pain and staggered forward a step before falling face first into the ground. Still howling, the giant rolled over swinging wildly with its club. Taego charged its throat and bit down with a sickening crunch on the giant’s windpipe. Its howl became a gurgle, but it continued to thrash about. A wild swing struck Taego. The bear flew free, making blood and flesh spray into the air. Massive amounts of red gushed from the giant’s neck.

Feffer’s legs stopped running, and his stomach lurched at the sight. He held his breath to keep from becoming ill.

The bear flew several feet and smashed into a tree, then he fell to the ground laying very still.

Daki ran up the giant’s midsection and stabbed both swords into its heart. Blood gurgled from his neck and mouth as it breathed its last few moments of breath. Within moments, its giant eyes glazed over and stared at nothing.

“It’s … It’s dead,” Feffer said. “He killed it? He killed it.”

It took Feffer a moment to realize Elwin had flown over to the fallen giant. Feffer ran after him.

Without glancing at them, Daki ran over to Taego and knelt beside him. The bear moaned as if laboring to breath.

“He has broken ribs,” Daki said. “Four, maybe five.”

“Is he going to be alright?” Feffer asked.

Daki closed his eyes and placed his hands on Taego. His hands began glowing green for several heartbeats. When Daki’s hands stopped glowing, Taego rolled from his side to his feet, and Daki slumped forward, taking several deep breaths.

“How did you do that?” Feffer said.

“You killed it.” Elwin’s voice held a dangerous tone. “How could you do that? It was just a child.”

Without looking at Elwin, Daki retrieved his blades from the giant’s chest and wiped them on the giant’s jerkin. He sheathed his blades and turned to face Elwin. “Did you see what this
child
did to the deer?”

“I did,” Elwin nodded. “But it was a child.”

Feffer blinked at the ferocity in Elwin’s voice and decided to stay out of the argument. But, that thing was more than
just a child
.

“If given the chance this
child
would have killed you in the same manner as the deer,” Daki said. “Only, he would have taken longer. The death I gave it was a clean one. More than a Jojindun deserved.”

“It still feels wrong,” Elwin said, “killing.”

Daki pointed a sword at the deer. Its head was buried in the water. Daki’s voice was calm. “The giant does not share your views. Better to kill him now, than to let him grow up to kill my people. Or yours.”