The moment that Skogul and her father did fall to the ground, they began to shrink back to normal size. Whereupon, two of the robber fly-riders did land. Each slinging one of the Varangiants across the saddle of his unnatural mount. When this had been accomplished, they and the rest of the swarm did return to the Brazen Hive.
As for myself? Knowing that I was vastly outnumbered, I had run back into the fringes of the orchard to hide. Trying to convince myself that to stand over their bodies, in stalwart defense, would only have meant my own capture.
"You did the right thing," said a voice behind me.
Like the wind, my falchion flew from its scabbard! My right hand swinging it, from left to right, at throat level. Only for the blade to be caught between the bare hands of Lin Kuei!
"God's Blood!" I exclaimed: "How...?"
He smiled as he explained how, on Skogul's assuming giant size, back our camp, he had slipped on to the laces of her left boot. Only to slip off when she and her father had shrunken back down, to follow me through Baba Yaga's portal. He had then followed them through, just before the portal closed!
"And, when Skogul once more resumed being a giantess," he concluded: "...prior to traversing this orchard, I stowed away aboard her right boot."
"I like not such skulking around," I replied, bitterly: "Especially, on my part."
Whereupon, he did repeat that I had done the right thing.
"It would have been futile and fool-hardy to follow your first impulse. For it would have made you just as much a prisoner of the Korybantes as those two!"
"Who are they, anyway?" I demanded: "These Korybantes, I mean."
"The warrior-eunuchs who do serve and protect the Melissae. The first of that name were also called 'the Curetes,' after the Anatolian tribe from which they were originally drawn. But, this current crop is of mixed stock. Descended primarily from the Wu Sun Clan...as am I."
For a moment, I was stunned speechless. Then, did my open-mouthed astonishment become frowning suspicion.
"You had best explain yourself," I snarled.
And, he complied (with the type of half-smile that a parent might wear, when humoring a sullen child).
"When the Cathayan state of Wu did fall to its arch-enemy, the state of Yue, during the close of the Spring and Autumn Period, the subjects of Wu Fukai did flee in three different directions.* Some fled to the mountain range now known as the Wu Tang Shan. Others fled to the far eastward islands now called Nihon (joining, there, other descendants of Wu Taibo). And, still others fled to Kazakhstan, where they did become one with the Uar (ancestors of the Avars), and terrorize the Ili River Delta as pirates."
"Then, came Ovaria. Using her supernatural wiles, she did convince the clan leader, Wu Sun Ling, that she was Hsi Wang Mu, herself! Come to bestow upon him eternal rulership of the world, in her name, by letting him eat one of the fabled Peaches of Immortality. Yet, that 'peach' was truly one of these dragon's eye apples. Each one cursed with her magic, so that whoever did bite of one would become her obedient slave for the rest of his or her life!"
"When her ambition to reconquer the West was thwarted, however, by the Hephthalite defeat at Lake Maeotis, a mighty Taoist wizard named Chang Sen Feng did appear. Seizing the opportunity to do battle with her, personally. And, wielding--as his chief weapon--the fabled Golden Dagger-Axe of Hsia Jie!"
"By this means, did he ultimately (though, not without some difficulty) defeat Ovaria. Upon doing so, he did banish her, and the remainder of her retinue, to this parallel-realm. All, that is, save one. Ovaria's personal hand-maiden; Baba Yaga. And, in the many years since then, the troll hag slowly gained enough magic power that she could enter and exit this realm, at will. Bringing along with her...fertile male sacrifices for her mistress. Sacrifices that have allowed Ovaria to regain enough of her own power that she can now procreate!"
"And, I--as Chang Sen Feng's apprentice, and the last living direct descendant of Wu Taibo--have been tasked with preventing that. At any cost!"
tbc
Giantess World
Chapter End Notes:
* "...close of the Spring and Autumn Period..." Circa the 5th century B.C.
Wu Fukai: the last king of the state of Wu.
Wu Taibo: legendary eponymous founder of Wu.
Hsi Wang Mu: pre-Taoist Chinese creator goddess, also known as "Queen Mother of the West."
Chang Sen Feng: a supposedly immortal Taoist priest, credited with developing the forerunner of Tai chi chuan.
Lake Maeotis: early medieval nickname for the Sea of Azov (northeastern arm of the Black Sea).
P.S.---I'm using the Wade/Giles anglicizations as historical flavoring. The modern Pinyin stuff is too recent for my peace of mind. Plus, it strains my eyes to the point of head-achiness. ;-)
Wu Fukai: the last king of the state of Wu.
Wu Taibo: legendary eponymous founder of Wu.
Hsi Wang Mu: pre-Taoist Chinese creator goddess, also known as "Queen Mother of the West."
Chang Sen Feng: a supposedly immortal Taoist priest, credited with developing the forerunner of Tai chi chuan.
Lake Maeotis: early medieval nickname for the Sea of Azov (northeastern arm of the Black Sea).
P.S.---I'm using the Wade/Giles anglicizations as historical flavoring. The modern Pinyin stuff is too recent for my peace of mind. Plus, it strains my eyes to the point of head-achiness. ;-)