"Jacob?" I asked, not believing my eyes.
He just stood there looking at me from behind the bars, saying nothing.
"Brother! I've come to rescue you!" I said enthusiastically as I stepped up to the cage.
To my surprise, instead of embracing me, he took a step back. His face looked. . . Shocked. . Disgusted by the sight of me almost.
"What's wrong with you, Jacob?" I asked, gripping the bars.
"What's wrong with you!?" He shouted back, jolting me. "You just killed someone in cold blood!"
"That was for you! She told me she beat and tortured you, before selling you off to some giant family! I came to avenge you!" I shouted back. "I hadn't seen or heard from you in months, and this is how you greet me?!"
He stood silent, working over what I had told him.
"Regardless of the reason. . . We aren't executioners, brother!" He said, like he was trying to plead and reason with me. "I saw the death goddess' hand move you. . . I fear you may be in too deep!"
"Now is not the time to discuss this!" I spat back. "Either you can stay in this cage, or you can help me. . . Help us. . Deal with what's going on in the outside world! But when her girls find her body. . . Every human sized entity within one hundred miles of this place will feel their wrath. . . You know that to be true!"
Jacob didn't argue, and after a half hour of struggling, we had his sword, clean clothes and were on our way. He was in rough shape to say the least, so travel was slow. It seemed these women took their toll on him tenfold to what they had done to Julius. We pushed through the night, but eventually Jacob's strength gave out, forcing me to carry him.
I kept my pace up, knowing that come daybreak, the sisters of Zahra would chew up the distance between us like nothing if they caught our trail. My main priority was meeting back up with my companions and by the time the sun had risen, I was only halfway back to the modest camp.
I kept moving but eventually I heard the inevitable. The thunder of hooves. Giant hooves. There was no time to waste and no possibility of fighting our way out even if Jacob and I were both at 100 percent. Instead, I ducked inside a hollowed out tree trunk. A moment later, a stampede of epic proportions crashed overhead.
Trees were obliterated as what felt like one hundred giant horses pounded by. In reality, it was probably only 15 but when something as big as that, moves that fast, it puts everything into perspective.
Just as fast as they came, they were gone and we were left in the pounded, muddy path they left behind. I heaved Jacob back over my shoulder, checking to make sure the coast was clear before I struck out again.
Hours later, we arrived at what used to be our humble camp. The ground was absolutely mashed with hoof prints along with both giant bare footprints and bootprints. Other than that, there were no traces of any of my traveling companions. They had successfully packed up and got out, but luckily I knew where they were heading.
The horse track continued due east, toward the next town. God help them. But there was a tiny X, too small for a giant to notice if they weren't looking, on the west side of the biggest tree around camp. It was a code that only we knew. Another 4 hours passed as I trudged on, but eventually I came to a series of caves in the side of a hill.
There were no signs of life, but I knew better.
"KAKAAWW!" I called out, doing my best impression of a common raven.
"KAAAWW!" Came an obnoxious reply from inside the cave.
A second later, Malakai emerged, all 9 feet of him. massive grin on his face. He towered over us, his hand resting on the handle of his sword.
"Long time no see Ant! And what a fine way to meet it was!" He said, happily. "And is that beat down rag of a man Jacob I spy there?" He asked, squinting. "Weren't we told he was some giant girl's doll by now?
"Yes. He. . . He's fallen on black days as of late." I said as I walked past him and into the large cave.
"Why was he not with you, anyway? " he asked as he followed me in. "When he got captured."
Inside, Cassius and Peter were sitting by a fire that seemed to be venting out the side of the cave and through some type of moss filtering system to keep the smoke from being seen.
"Since when do you ask so many questions?" I asked, setting Jacob down on a straw mat next to Julius, who appeared to be sleeping, heavily. I covered him in blankets and sat down by the fire.
Further on in the cave, Marcel had joined the other horses. It was truly apparent just how dirty he was now.
"Since you two disappeared on us! Left us with no warning. No purpose." Malakai replied, his voice a bit bitter as he too sat down.
"I'm sorry Malakai. . . . It was. . . feelings and emotions we couldn't control." I said, looking into the fire.
"Well. . . We survived. Not that this cave is much of a living, but it's home. " Malakai said, before he began rolling himself a cigarette.
"So what now then, Ant? Your bounty is too high for you to show your face in even the most ratty establishment. Every eye in the kingdom will be looking for you. . . And by extension. . . Us. " Peter said, looking to me.
"Well. . . " I said, scratching my chin. "I'd say we have no choice but to bring "them" back.
"You really think so? Does anyone even remember them anymore?" Peter asked, an unsure look on his face.
"Remember who?" Cassius asked, confused.
"The Anzaari." Myself, Peter and Malakai all said in unison.
Cassius burst out laughing.
"That old wives tales?" He asked, wiping a tear from his eye.
The three of us just stared blankly at him.
"You. . . You're serious?" He asked, eyes wide.
"Deathly." I said, looking him in the eye.
"So what. . You. . . You guys expect me to believe that you are the ones behind some ancient spirits that bring misfortune and pain wherever you go? With. . With mystical powers and. . . "
"That's exactly what we're saying." Malakai said.
"Well. . . If we're picking that up again, we're going to need masks and cloaks." Peter said, looking between us.
"I'm in good standing with the nearest village. I will get the cloaks. You stay here and carve the masks." Malakai said, standing.
"There might not be anything left of the nearest village. . . " I said, quietly.
"What do you mean?" He asked, puzzled.
"I mean. . . The sisters of Zahra were already going to come back to that camp and destroy us for harming one of their own. But now. . . Now I killed their leader. They will likely tear every village apart until they find us."
"Well. . .the village is south west of here. If they had come that way, we would have heard them. Besides. . . We have 4-er. . 3 and a half of the 6 of us back together. Once Jacob rests up, we will once again be a force to be reckoned with!" Malakai declared.
Well until we make the masks, Ant had better lay low. These caves are well hidden. The 3 of us can gather supplies as we need them and you can tend to your brother and this other young man" Peter said, as he stood and walked out of the cave.
The next few days were uneventful. Cassius, Malakai and Peter came and went with no regularity. Not being constantly beaten or used, meamt Jacob made a speedy recovery. He wasn't speaking to me, but he wasn't uncivil either. We just sort of existed together in the caves.
Within the week, we had carved the masks out of wood, sanded them to be perfectly smooth, and painted them.
The Anzaari mask was a round, snow white face with two horizontal slits for eyes. It wore a blank expression in the mouth that ran well into the territory of creepy, but that was the point. Besides. . . It wasn't what the mask looked like, it was how the people wearing it acted that gave it its power.
"The Anzaari are like ghosts. They show no emotion or attachment under any circumstance but don't hesitate to deal out death should the need arise. They say nothing, but communicate with their body. . . . Their presence." Peter explained to Julius, who had since became conscious and functioning again.
Because of his limited existence under Emelia's rule, he had never heard of the Anzaari. His mind was reeling from the lore and stories Peter told him. Being a man of organization and structure, he took to Peter immediately, wanting to learn everything he could.
With the masks ready, we set off east for Haliday. It was the last major city inland before the authority of the crown began to show it's ugly head at every turn. It had been years since I had been there, but I can say that I didn't have fond memories of it.
It was one of the rare cities of the day where slayers weren't particularly welcome. A city where a human could be persecuted just for being too tall, whether or not they were actually a slayer. I didn't know if things had changed. Malakai said it hadn't, but at 9 feet tall, most people thought better of angering him with their backwards politics.
"So. . . Who are we looking for in Haliday?" Julius asked as we rode.
In the spirit of speed and mobility, we had opted to travel light. That meant no wagons. Malakai had acquired another horse for Julius and Jacob took mine. I was back with Marcel now, and it felt good. The six of us rode in our black cloaks, ready to pull down our masks should anyone appear.
"Henrietta." I replied, flatly.
"And how will I know if I see her?" He asked, concern in his voice.
"You'll know her when you see her." Peter said, chiming in.
"You couldn't miss her with your eyes closed and your back turned!" Malakai laughed his deep laugh.
"Why are you guys being so secretive about it? I'm just trying to help!" Julius more or less whined.
"Blonde hair. 7 feet 2 inches tall. Responds to Henny." Peter said, precise as he always was.
"Permanent scowl on her face." I said.
"The attitude to match." Jacob added.
Although he wasn't talking to me, it still felt like a small step in the right direction.
"Skinny as a twig!" Malakai began. "Except for those massive tits!" He laughed.
The 4 of us shared a moment of silence as we all remembered those glorious tits.
"You guys remember that time she kicked that guy through a wall for accidentally brushing against her ass in the tavern?" Malakai asked with a grin.
"I remember getting ran out of that particular village. . . " Peter replied, without a smile as he recalled the whole situation was unfavorable to say the least.
"Yeah, we were either hated or loved in those days huh?" Malakai replied, with a chuckle.
"The way I see it, the border between here and the giant realm hasn't been pushed in a few thousand years so they can't complain about you guys too much, can they?" Cassius asked, giving his two cents.
Malakai and Julius nodded their agreement. Myself, Peter and Jacob had nothing to say on the matter. Jacob never did have much to say. Even less now that he wasn't speaking to me. Between us, Peter and I had faced all three of the daughters and barely left a scratch, so I guess you could say we felt a little differently about the odds of the border holding up.
"Masks on!" I said, as we came up on a few travelers on the path.
The sight of 6 figures in black cloaks with white masks was a bad omen for those who knew the legend. It was a nightmare for those who didn't and it showed as the two men slid their horses to a stop as soon as they saw us, looks of fear on their faces.
One man turned his horse and bolted the opposite direction with a scream. The commotion caused the other man's horse to rear up, sending the man to the ground on his back. We never broke pace and the man closed his eyes as we came straight for him, but nothing happened. When he opened them, we were a quarter mile down the path like he didn't exist.
We kept our masks on until we reached the outskirts of town where we stashed the horses. Cassius, being the slowest and oldest body wise, opted to stay with them. The rest of us pulled our masks down and moved into the village.
As the Anzaari, we kept a strategic formation. When searching for someone, we kept a street apart, so that we could cover each other, but also more ground. As I walked with Malakai on my left, and Jacob to my left, it brought back old memories of the Anzaari. People looking at you like you're out of your mind. Others fleeing. Still others trying to fight you. . . . It never ended well for them.
Like most cities further inland, Haliday had grown since I had last been there but that was the reality of a longer lifespan. It was now as big if not bigger than I remembered the capital being. People everywhere, rushing about their lives. It seemed as though the looming threat hadn't reached here yet, although it was on their doorstep whether they liked it or not.
Maybe they thought the slayers who had never ultimately failed to keep the peace would prevail as they always did, no matter the enemy. . . . If only they knew what was knocking at their door.
But they were about to.
I walked among the people for an hour, my eyes scanning but I didn't see Henrietta. This was only her last rumored location but none of us were really in touch with each other. It was much easier to search though, as people tend to move out of the way of a 6 foot 5 figure in a black cloak with a white mask.
Not having any luck, eventually I took a seat on a bench in the city square, keeping my head straight, and letting the mask intimidate with its blank expression. I had only been there for about 20 minutes when panic broke out.
Tremors.
Footsteps.
People screaming and fleeing for their lives.
"Everyone, please gather in the court yard!" A voice rang out. . . A voice I recognized.
A few seconds later, an orange skinned giantess walked into the square, herding a large crowd of humans. They all stood, cowering in fear. I recognized her right away, it was Juliette's servant girl. . . Only. . .now she was dressed in the same type of dress as Juliette but with her ankle boots. She also had a sword on her back. It obviously resembled Juliette's in overall shape, but the size was nowhere near the same. This woman's blade was of manageable proportions for a giant of average strength.
"My name is Anastasia. I'm here on behalf of the crown. The TRUE crown!" She emphasized, letting it be known her distaste for human kind and the hierarchy of them.
"I'm here in search of a wanted fugitive, but I come in peace. No one will be harmed as long as you do as I say!" She declared with authority and I already knew this probably wasn't going to end well.
"This is the man! Antony Lockwood!" She said, speaking loud and clear as she held up the giant version of my wanted poster for the crowd to see.
There were murmers in the crowd but nobody stepped out to say anything.
"He is a violent criminal who directly attacked both princess Juliette and princess Leonara in an attempt at murder!" She informed them. "And I have reason to believe he may be here in this city!"
I put my head down as I sat on the bench. I could only pray that neither I nor my associates got noticed, but leaving in a crowd of people frozen in fear was not an option. Then it only got worse.
"Now. . . I'm going to conduct a search. I want all the women to my left, and the men to my right." She commanded.
Immediately the crowd began to shift and a few seconds later the sexes were divided into two sections.
"Ok, now every man under 6 feet tall, move to the back of the yard." She said as she began to study faces.
"Hmm. . ." She said to herself as she crouched and began to scan the crowd.
As she looked, she gently shoved men out who didn't match the description at all except for height until she was left with roughly 40 that kind of matched. From there, she began to pick them up and look at them more closely, comparing them to my poster before setting them off the side.
For a split second I had hope that she was going to be too stupid to notice me and I could slip away but unfortunately, the second I was ready to leave, her eyes fell upon me. Her face scrunched in mild confusion, then irritation before she stood up.
"You! In the mask. . . . I do believe I gave you direct order from the crown!" She spat, her tone grating on me. "Stand up and remove that ridiculous mask. . . NOW!" She boomed, her voice echoeing off the buildings that lined the square.
I remained perfectly still, just staring at the ground like I hadn't heard a word she said. This must have irritated her further because I felt tremors and two steps later, I was cast into shadow as she loomed over me.
"This is your last chance. Take off the mask, or I'll take it off for you!" She threatened, clenching her fists at her sides and stomping her foot.
As much as I understood unpleasant female superior body language,I knew I was in trouble now. I lifted my head up, up up to look at her.
[3rd person]
The look on her face was one of almost pure rage as the pale white face of this figure in the black cloak stared blankly up at her. In the ultimate show of disrepect, the man. . Woman?. . .the figure. . .had the audacity to cock it's head to the side like some confused animal.
That was all Anastasia needed to see and she immediately reached down to snatch the figure from the bench and likely rip it's head clean off removing the mask. She was just about to close her fist around it, when she was hit in the side of the head with something hard.
She retracted her hand, lifting her head in the direction the attack had come, and there, standing on a rooftop. . . . Was a figure in a black cloak with a white mask. A jolt of shock went through her, and she did a double take to the person standing there, black cloak covering them entirely from hood to toe. Her head snapped down to the bench. The empty bench where the figure had just been sitting not two seconds ago.
Another bolt hit her as she looked back to the rooftop. The empty rooftop where the figure had just been standing not two seconds ago.
Her face turned a shade of bright red as she had been made a fool of by this man. How could he even have moved so fast? All she knew was she wasn't going to stand for it!
"Did you not hear me before?!" She snapped angrily at the crowd. "I said no one would get hurt just as long as everyone did as I said! Now, you scum think you can play children's games with me?!" She bellowed, getting worked up.
The crowd was dead silent.
"I am the main assistant of Juliette herself! That gives me the authority to crush this entire city if I see fit! So either the man in the mask comes forward, or I decimate all of you!" Anastasia declared, scanning the crowd for any sign of him.
"You have until the count of 5 you little maggot! One. . . . Two. . . . Three. . . . Fo-
Just then, Anastasia spotted a figure in a black cloak with a white mask, leaning casually in the rear gateway to the courtyard. When it knew she had made eye contact, the figure ducked out and into the street to his right.
Anastasia pursued, clearing the court in two steps, using the gap between the men and the women, careful not to step on anyone. She easily stepped over the court wall and out into the street. She turned to her left and searched, but the street was completely empty, every villager either gathered in the square or hiding in their homes.
She took a few careful steps forward, trying to be quiet. As quiet as someone 100 feet tall and weighing an unimaginable amount could be anyway. She drew the sword from her back, ready to strike at any hint of the figure. She stood for a moment, just waiting, when she caught a glint out of the corner of her eye.
Instinctively she through her head back just as a human sized sword hurdled past her face, passing so close that it cut some hair off of her bangs. Against logic, although the sword had missed her, she felt corresponding pain in both her legs. She looked down and both of her calves had 3 scratch like cuts on them and were dripping blood.
She looked in the direction the sword had come from, but there was nothing but an empty street. It wasn't until she turned around that she saw it.
A figure in a black cloak with a white mask, standing in the middle of the baron street, only this one was different. While the other one. . . . Or however many others there were, were all seemingly identical in the amount of time she had seen them, this one was considerably taller and broader.
Not that it mattered. She raised her sword without waiting and brought it down in a vertical slash, intending to either cut the figure or more likely, just smash it into oblivion. The tip of her sword blasted into the cobblestone, breaking chunks up and sending up dust, but she did a double take when the dust cleared and she realized that she had completely missed it. . . . Or. . . It had evaded her. . . She was unsure at this point.
Unsure of what exactly she was fighting and unsure of herself. Though she had trained extensively with Juliette, her nerves were getting the better of her and the blank stare of the figure only added to it. As if feeding on her insecurities, it cocked its head to the side, again mocking her as it stood just millimeters from where her blade had landed.
Anastasia let out an angry growl but before she could strike again, a hand emerged from the cloak and delicately grabbed her sword by its edge. She tried to pull it back but found that she couldn't budge it. She tried again with the same result. This figure was as strong as she was in just one hand!
As if to prove the point, the figure pulled with still just one hand, and even as she dug her heels in, Anastasia was pulled across the ground. She leaned her weight against it, straining to overpower it, but it did no use. She grunted with effort and she thought for a split second it payed off, but the figure released its grip. The effect was almost comical as she stumbled backward and fell hard, crushing half the buildings on the block in the process.
She stayed down breathing heavily and accessing the situation the way Leonara had taught her. She knew now that there was definitely at least 2 people messing with her. The bigger one was physically stronger than she was, but she had a range advantage. . Unless. . . . This was a slayer she was dealing with. It would definitely explain the strength and the speed with which it could appear and disappear. But it didn't explain why it didn't just attack her outright, but instead just toyed with her.
Anastasia stood, dusting herself off as she looked around for any sign of the figure. By now the town's people had begun to flood into the street to see the damage and know that the giantess was dead. No such luck. But she was angry.
Very, very angry.
Before she had left the capital, Juliette had told her that it didn't matter what she destroyed, as the destruction might draw Antony out of hiding but her sister had said something else entirely. Her plan was to only threaten violence, on the hope that it would persuade the villagers to give the slayers up and ultimately set up an ambush where they could be taken without a fight.
All this weighed on her mind as she searched. She walked slowly, her sword in front of her at the ready. She cleared street after street, but didn't see any trace. It seemed as though it had disappeared out of thin air. The city was large and most of the buildings were tall relative to the humans. They only came up to Anastasia's knee but it made it difficult to see anyone who wasn't directly in front of her.
She glanced down an alley, and double took, when she saw a lone figure in a black cloak with a white mask. Again this one differed from the other two she had seen. While the height was noticeably less than the last one, it was still taller than the first. It was also much less broad than the figure that grabbed her sword.
On top of that, the cloak was ill fitting, like it wasn't meant for this person. It didn't cover the figures feet, stopping about mid calf, exposing feminine ankle boots very similar to the ones Anastasia herself was wearing. The last peculiarity was the spikey blonde hair that was jutting out beneath the hood and around the mask. All of this seemed strange and far less uniform than the others.
It led her to believe that these weren't some supernatural beings, but just a band of. . .something. . . Messing with her specifically. . .
No matter.
She would simply destroy as many as it takes. Hopefully there would be a mask or two left intact for her to bring back to Juliette for when she told the story of this! Anastasia mused as she launched her attack, a straight thrust aiming to skewer this "woman" into the ground.
Unfortunately, the woman's counter happened so fast there was nothing Anastasia could do. As she threw her thrust, just as she was going to hit her mark, in the blink of an eye there was a glint of metal.
In a swift movement, the woman blocked her blow dead, and struck Anastasia's sword precisely, causing it it vibrate harshly and sting her hands. The pain was so abrupt and so sharp that she reflexively let go of it as she cried out in surprise. It was as if the woman was expecting that very thing to happen because she immediately snatched the sword from her hands.
Anastasia watched in awe as her sword was taken, and the little woman hoisted and flipped the giant blade so that the point was facing back at its owner. Before she could make a move. . . . It was too late.
The woman threw the sword back at her like a spear, piercing her chest and the tip penetrated out through her back.
The fight was over.
Tears streamed down Anastasia's face as she slumped to her knees. They weren't tears of fear though. . . They were tears of regret. Of disappointment. She had trained so hard to be of use to Juliette. To Leo and Florence, but here she was. . . Dying in the street of some filthy human village.
Unacceptable.
The last thing she saw was an empty alleyway where the figure had been just a moment ago. . . .
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
What would an anime style story be without a "getting the crew back together" arc?