We all went our separate ways but ultimately left town and reconvened with Cassius again.
"Did you guys. . . "Take care" of our little problem?" He asked as he leaned against a tree, smoking a cigarette.
"Yes. . . . Fair Henrietta of all people finished her off." I said, taking a seat on a fallen log.
"And what of her human ally?" He asked, looking amongst the 5 of us.
"Human ally?" Peter asked, confused.
"I saw her talking to a man before they went into the city. " Cassius said, casually.
"They have human spies now?" Julius asked in disbelief.
"I suppose it's easy enough for them to threaten anyone into working for them." I said, yawning.
"And you're not the least bit concerned about that?" Julius shouted, trying to get emotion out of any of us.
"The best we can do is watch the path and catch him when you recognize him." Malakai said to Cassius.
"We don't have time for that. We need to get Henrietta and keep moving. The sooner we get back to full strength, the better." I said, standing up. "The way I see it, Juliette and whoever else is coming whether they know about that giant woman or not."
"So what do you plan to do?" Malakai asked, resting his hand on his sword.
"Cassius, Julius and Peter. . . . Go into to town. . . See if you can find out where Henrietta lives. What she is doing here. It isn't safe to make camp, so the rest of us will have to make do out here." I said, taking the lead.
"Is there really a need for the masks? I mean, couldn't the four of you handle anyone who might try for the bounty? What more protection do you need?" Cassius asked, skeptical.
Malakai chuckled his deep chuckle.
"These masks aren't for OUR protection, believe me!" Peter said, glancing over at Cassius. "The masks are to take away the temptation of anyone who might be foolish enough to try and kill Ant."
"What does he mean Ant? " Cassius questioned, looking concerned.
I said nothing.
"He means. . . . You obviously haven't seen what Ant and his not so little girlfriend are actuallu capable of. . " Jacob said, spitefully.
"I. . . Don't know what you guys are talking about, but I'm not sure I want to know either." Cassius said cautiously before snubbing out his cigarette.
"Good enough. How about you 3 get moving, so we can get the hell back on the road?" Malakai asked, climbing on his horse.
[Giant kingdom. Juliette's blacksmith forge.]
Leonara walked down the hallway towards her sister's forge. This wasn't a talk she was looking forward having. but she had to do it. She stepped into the doorway and wrapped her knuckles on the open door.
"What is it?" Juliette asked coldly, without even looking up from the sword she was working on.
"Juliette. . . . I know this is probably a stupid question but. . . . Are you planning on going to that human city? Are you going to seek vengeance?" Leonara asked, idly picking up a sword and inspecting it.
"I have no choice. She was family." Juliette replied, emotionless.
"I understand that. . . . But. . . We don't even know what we are dealing with here!" Leo tried to reason.
"Don't tell me you believe in "The spirit", sister!" Juliette exclaimed, putting down the sword and glaring at Leonara.
"Haha of course not! But you know as well as I, how fruitless arguing with villagers, human or giant, can be!" Leo said, pulling out a stool and taking a seat.
"It just sounds like. . . These aren't the same low level kingdom slayers we faced at the mine. That's all." Leonara said, looking her sister in the eye.
"It doesn't matter who they are! I can't forgive them. Forgive him!" Juliette said, passionately.
"Julie. . . . I know you WANT it to be him. . . But we don't even know for sure that this group WAS him! Just running into there blind. . . That isn't how we do things!" Leo said, trying to reason with her.
"What are you so worried about?!" Juliette demanded.
"It's the things you don't worry about that will kill you!" Leonara said, standing up. "Please. . . At least let me come with you."
"You are not coming with me!" Juliette said, folding her arms.
"And why not? You know that together we can beat just about anyone!" Leo said, with a smile.
"The answer is no. . . . "
[Haliday. One week after the death of Anastasia.]
I crouched in the back of the wagon as Peter drove it into an alley behind a large building. A tap on the side of the wagon let myself, Jacob and Malakai know it was safe to get out. We kicked in the back door and disarmed the 6 men that came to fight us, before walking through another door to find Henrietta with her feet up on a desk.
"Well well, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, like she was expecting us.
"Pretty nice place you got here!" Malakai said as he knelt, too tall to fully stand in the room.
"It is nice! And I intend to keep it that way. . . You guys need to leave. NOW!" She replied, giving the impression that she didn't want us to be seen by someone.
"What are you now, a debt collector for the village leader? That sure is a step up for you! I'm honestly proud." I said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Anything is a step up from always bein' on the run! Livin' in the shit and the filth!" She replied, glaring at me. "I finally have a home!"
"You may not have had a house with us, but you WERE home!" I replied, trying to make her remember.
"I've really. . . Had enough of your mouth moving!" She said, putting her feet down and standing up, her own head mere inches from touching the ceiling.
"What is it going to take?" I asked, fed up with the dance we were doing.
"Hmm. . . What is it going to take? Isn't that a 100 thousand gold question!" Henny mused.
She paces for a moment, thinking before her eyes lit up.
"You want to make this whole thing up to me? Ok! I'm gonna need you and little Jakeypoo to go on a little errand for me!" She said, with a big grin.
"What type of errand?" I asked, leaning up against the wall.
"The. . . Problem solving kind!" She said thoughtfully. "See. . . Stories and rumors of a mysterious being terrorizin' a city and river that runs through it a few miles away have been poppin' up. People have come here seeking me out to help, but I've got such a demanding work schedule, that I haven't had the time. You boys will handle it, won't you? Bring me back proof that you did the deed! She said, her voice falsely sweet.
"What kind of "mysterious being"?" Jacob asked, speaking up.
Henny only giggled.
"I don't think it much matters!. . . If you two really want to win back my heart, than here's your opportunity!" She said, sitting back into her oversized chair.
"Fine! Give us the directions and we'll get it done." I said, begrudgingly.
I didn't like anything about this, but if it's what it took to get Henrietta back on our side, it was worth it.
"I'm told it resides under a big waterfall North of here. Ride until you reach the river. Simple as that!" She explained, smirking.
"Ok. We're going." I said, as I motioned for Jacob to leave.
"Eh eh!" Henrietta said, stopping us. Her grin widened even more. "The swords stay here!"
Jacob and I looked at each other before taking our swords off and handing them to Peter.
"You have 3 days!" Henrietta called as we walked back out the door.
Some time and more than "a few miles"later we came across the city she had told us about. Nobody really seemed to be too concerned with whoever this being was, but the presence of 2 figures in black cloaks with white masks was a little unsettling. We began to follow the shallow, narrow river upstream to where this being supposedly resided.
The trees became thicker and vines began to hang the further upstream we went and the horses began to struggle. We said nothing as we traveled, me because I had nothing to say, Jacob because he just flat out wasn't speaking to me.
Finally after 4 or 5 miles we began to hear a waterfall. We came out of the brush to a sight we did not expect. There was a large, shallow pool in the river where the waterfall came down, and scattered all over the area were human sized bones, suits of armor, and other miscellaneous items strewn about. Some looked like they had been there for ages. Some of the trees had been smashed, flattened and splintered as well, and there were slightly ominous giant foot prints all over the ground.
And that wasn't even the worst part.
Immediately after leaving the tree line, the smell hit us. It was as if something that already smelled horrible, also died and was now decaying.
And indeed it was. Whatever "it" was. Lying in a heap by the water's edge. We dismounted our horses and cautiously approached it.
The large creature had greenish blue, wrinkled skin, scraggly hair and 2 large sharp teeth jutting from its lower row, though its mouth was only slightly open. Fighting giants all day, you get good at judging height and this creature appeared to be about 25 feet tall. Its build was stocky, with broad shoulders and short legs with 3 toes on each foot. The body looked pretty mangled, with a crushed arm and a twisted leg. The chest was also flattened.
"Jacob. . . Can we talk about. . . Why you aren't speaking to me?" I asked as we examined the creature.
He said nothing, as he lifted the arm of it, looking closely.
"I mean. . . You're here with me. You stayed after I rescued you. You are back in the family. . . . I don't understand why you are going through all the steps except for just telling me what your problem is!" I stated, getting it off my chest.
"You want to know why?" Jacob asked, his tone irritated as he spoke directly to me for the first time since the night I killed Zahra. "It's beca-
Just as he was speak his mind, my soul began to tingle and burn as the corpse began to glow green. We both stepped back as it began to creak and move as it reanimated. A moment later, this "giant" creature was standing before us, still obviously dead, but moving under the power of the death goddess for sure. The use of her magic was affecting me too.
I looked around, and spotted a faint green glow coming from behind the waterfall. It must have been whoever was controlling this creature, but there was no time to think as it picked up a club, which must have been it's primary weapon. On instinct, I reached over my shoulder and Jacob to his side but we both came up empty handed for our swords.
"Huh. . . " I said, as I remembered giving my sword to Peter. "I guess we will have to do this the old fashioned way!" I said with a chuckle.
Jacob didn't reply as he easily side stepped a smash from the creature. His face was perfectly calm as we both just watched the creature move. It swung wildly but made no natural noises or fluidity.
"I will. . . Leave this little guy to you, and I will talk to whoever is behind this." I said calmly, before turning and wading into the river. The water was somehow crystal clear despite the waterfall's turbulence and as the water came up to my waist, I noticed there were large, dark spots in the river bed, where the water got much deeper.
I looked back, and saw my brother just generally avoiding the creature. He hasn't yet gone on the offensive yet for whatever reason. As I continued on, the water got naturally deeper, and by the time I was under the the falls, it was up to my shoulders . I pushed passed the crashing water and under the wall of water, was on the other side was a large cave, elevated above the water, except it looked like it had been carved by humans.
The light was coming from further in, but there were torches on the walls, illuminating it. I climbed out of the water and walked slowly and cautiously deeper. The cave meandered back and forth a few times before taking a hard left, and I could tell that was where the light was coming from.
I peeked around the corner, and sitting on a carpet, with his eyes closed was a middle aged man. There was a withered old staff by his hand and he was glowing green inside his chest. My own soul began to ache with the influence of the goddess of death in the cave.
I was just about to spring out and confront him, but it seemed he felt my presence as well because his eyes opened and he was looking right at me with glowing green eyes.
In the blink of an eye, he reached for the staff and blasted a massive fireball from it. I turned and ran, the giant flame following me back through the cave but steaming out as I burst through the waterfall. On the opposite side, Jacob was sitting calmly on the shore, with the creature on the other side of the river, beaten but also done being reanimated.
"Jacob! Get off your ass and get ready to fight!" I screamed as I ran as fast as I could through the water. I regrouped with him as he stood and together we watched as the man emerged from behind the falls.
"He used prayers with his staff!" I said to my brother as we squared up, swordless.
"Is he a slayer? " Jacob asked, giving up the silent treatment for the moment.
"I don't know for sure. . . Just don't let your guard down." I told him.
The way the man waded through the water told me that he wasn't a slayer. He struggled to push through efficiently with only the strength of a human although he didn't look worried as he faced off with us.
"Are you the being whose been terrorizing the villages around here?" I asked, causing the man to stop when we were about 20 yards away.
"Terrorizing?" The man asked, slightly confused. "I have no business with any of the villages around here. I am the guardian of the omega staff! The affairs of humans are not my concern." The man declared.
"Well. . . You fit the description of the being we were sent here to kill, but if you are not he or she, than we have no business with you." I told him, but I didn't take my eyes off of him.
"It appears that somebody already killed the creature, brother! " Jacob said to me, his eyes glued on the man as well.
"Someone did kill him. . . . But he was no threat to the villagers either! Just one of the last of his kind." The man said, a sadness in his voice. "Also a guardian."
"So what are you saying? That our information was wrong?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "That you just happened to be exactly where we were told you'd be is a coincidence?"
"What you were told is none of my business! I've just been burdened with protecting the staff!" The man declared, preparing for an attack.
"Well. . . . I don't know anything about your staff. . . But our mission is bigger than it! If taking your head convinces Henrietta to rejoin us so we can win the fight with the giants. . . Then it's what we have to do!" I informed him, my tone impersonal.
He paused for a moment.
"Did you just say giants?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yes. They are well on their way to taking over the human realm. My family of slayers may very well be the last hope of man!" I said, looking him dead in the eye.
"Fool! . . . A giant was the one who attacked me and killed merthryl!" He said, pointing at the corpse.
"That thing has a name?" Jacob asked, looking at it in disgust.
"That "thing" was one of the last river trolls in existence!" The man stated, offended.
"What is a river troll?" Jacob and I asked in unison.
The man laughed.
"Do you think the world only includes giants, slayers and humans?! No. . . . There are many. .MANY. . creatures our there that none of you know anything about! "
"And it was a guardian of this staff as well?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, he was. . . Until that monster came up here and murdered him!"
" What did the giant look like?" I asked, hoping for leads.
The man was silent for a moment, deep in thought. Finally he spoke.
"Let me show you." He said, cryptically.
Suddenly, the man began to glow blue and a second later, the world around us began to change. The environment seemed to be warping, almost imperceivably at first, but then the sky changed to gloomy from sunshine, and the body of the creature was gone too. Finally the world stopped changing and I felt the familiar feel of magic completely enveloping my body. Jacob looked very uncomfortable with the whole thing.
"Watch." The man directed.
As we stood in silence, I felt a soft tremor. . . Then another. . . And another. I looked around to catch a glimpse of what was approaching but the trees around the river were too tall. Then. . Just as quickly as they had begun. . . . They stopped, just outside the edge of the trees.
Silence. . .
The man's eyes were closed now, and it looked like he was focusing on creating this. . . Vision? Or memory. .
Just as I began to fall into the lull of the calm, there was a deafening roar from somewhere behind us. We turned just in time to see the river troll come barreling out from the waterfall. It looked in much better condition than when we had seen it and when it moved on it's own accord, using it's fists on the ground for stability as it shuffled.
It stopped in the center of the pool, only a few yards from where the man was standing, and let out a another roar, pounding it's fists. As we watched, it looked down as if it was searching for something in front of it. It looked back and forth in the water but didn't seem to find what it was looking for. It was then that it looked up and noticed something behind us.
Jacob and I turned slowly and noticed for the first time, a giant pair of ankle high boots, with bone anklets draped over the top, standing on the shore, just outside the treeline. I instantly recognized them.
"Are. . . Are those human bones?" Jacob asked, looking at me in disbelief.
"Slayer." I replied, bluntly.
The river troll cautiously approached, and out of habit, we stepped out of its way as the memory played through where we were standing. It stopped in front of the boots and just stared, confused.
"It wasn't the brightest of creatures, was it?" I whispered in my brother's ear.
Suddenly it realized what it was looking at, and it's head craned back, up up up to Leonara some 120 feet taller than it. It must have been it's first time seeing anything alive larger than itself, because the troll seemed to look up in disbelief. It even let out an involuntary whimper, because it knew that it had to face this giant being.
The troll seemed to shake the fear from its mind as it let out a another roar before it charged forward, trying to plow into her and push her back. Unfortunately, it didn't weigh enough to even budge her. It hit her calf and tried to dig it's feet in, but it just slipped and treaded dirt.
It sort of put things into perspective. . . Seeing someone or something else being the outsized one for once. Us slayers were used to it, but this troll didn't seem to fathom it. It continued to try to push, but Leonara just stood her ground, looking down at it.
A moment later she reached down and grabbed it by scruff of it's neck like a stray cat. She hoisted it to her face, but this time she didn't have the same sadistic look that she did when she had Jag in her clutches. No. . . This look was 100% focus and concentration.
"Are you the keeper of the omega staff?" She asked the troll.
It only squirmed and roared in response, it's arms flailing wildly and it's jagged teeth gnashing. She just sort of examined it for a brief period, before apparently deciding it wasn't intelligent enough to be the keeper. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the troll off into the distance like it weighed nothing.
Next, she turned and looked in the direction of the waterfall. She placed her satchel on the ground before stepping into the river pool. Although we weren't physically a part of the memory, the water rose around us as the woman displaced it with her sheer size.
Again we stepped out of the way as she crossed the pool in two steps. She crouched down in the ankle deep water and tried to see through the waterfall. Her hand reached out and touched the water, before pushing through it. Her arm disappeared up to her elbow, when suddenly the whole world shifted and suddenly we were inside the cave as a giant hand penetrated the wall of water.
We both watched as the man. . . . As he appeared in this memory, hid with his back against the wall where the outcropping was. The giant hand felt around, and just as it felt the corner, the man pulled out a dagger and plunged it into her pointer finger, immediately her hand flinched and withdrew.
There was a lull for a few moments before out of nowhere, Leonara's face plunged through next. She took a quick glimpse of the cave, before pulling her drenched head back out.
Another pause before. . . . Leonara's sword pierced the waterfall and narrowly missed the man as it shot through the length of the cave and stuck into the back wall. The man used this opportunity to mount a counter attack, rushing around the corner wielding the staff. As he ran toward the entrance, he began to glow brown and the earth seemed to be under his control as jagged spears of rock shot up ahead of him.
Suddenly the view again shifted to the outside just as the spears pierced the falls. I know for sure that a normal giant would have been impaled, but it seemed that Leonara shared the same unreal reflexes as her sister, because she whipped her head back just in time to avoid the spears.
Another 3 big spikes plunged from under the water near her chest, but again she dodged, using her flexibility to both evade the attack, sucking in her chest, and pull her sword from the cave as she did. The man exited the cave still glowing, and tried to push through the chest deep water but it was clear he didnt possess any special strength and he was barely able to creep.
A look of panic shown on his face as Leonara stood up and stared him down, water dripping off of her. She raised her sword and went to skewer him with the tip of her sword but he used the staff to raise a wall of rock, and it bought him just enough time to get out of the way before her sword smashed it to bits in a shower of rocks.
He stumbled up on to the bank but Leonara didn't give him time to breathe. She was on top of him in a second, and the human eye wouldn't have been able to see the protection prayer he cast at the last second before her foot smashed down on him.
Leo looked down, expecting to see a flattened corpse under her foot, but instead, a see through blue orb surrounded the man, protecting him. It pressed into the muddy bank until it reached the hard ground beneath and that was when she leaned in, determined to crush him.
At first it seemed like the orb could withstand her weight, to which both myself, Jacob and Leonara were surprised, but a moment later. . . . . The first crack appeared.
Then another spidered through it.
This was an odd situation because here we were, watching this man about to die, but at the same time, we were talking to him now so we knew he survived this. It had me intrigued to find out how because it appeared he was in a world of trouble now.
More cracks appeared as Leonara was standing full weight on it now. She seemed impressed somehow but she said nothing, just waiting to finish him off. The man was barely visible now through all the cracks and everyone knew it would shatter in another few seconds.
The man looked around desperately, but apparently he could only use one type of magic at a time and if he tried something else, he would be flattened as soon as he released the orb. He was effectively trapped.
Or so I thought. . .
Just then, I heard a familiar roar, as the river troll came running from the trees and struck her leg with a shoulder charge. It didn't move her much but since she was slightly off balance, it was enough to make her step off of the orb.
The man immediately broke the spell, and for the first time I could see how tired he looked now. With Leonara distracted, he crawled into the trees and hid to catch his breath.
Meanwhile, Leonara was officially irritated now, and she snatched the troll from the ground by its arm. It dangled helplessly and all it could do is roar interactively.
"Please stop!" She screamed at it. " I don't want to kill you but you aren't leaving me any choice!" She pleaded.
That was honestly the last thing I expected her to say after her display of brutality at the mine. . .
The troll swung wildly at her, its reply to her offer clear.
Without further hesitation, she raised her arm high, before smashing the troll into the ground at her feet. It screamed in pain as it lay stunned on the bank. With that taken care of, Leo scanned the trees for any sign of the human. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw movement and was just about to investigate, when she felt a tugging at her boot.
She looked down to see the troll in a last ditch effort to fight her. With a solemn look on her face, she lifted her boot and placed it on the the trolls arm. She took a deep breath, before stepping down to a pained scream and the crunch of bone. The troll desperately tried to get it's arm free, clawing at her boot with it's other hand.
Leo just looked down, her expression unreadable. Next she lifted her other foot and placed it on the trolls leg. Another crunch. Still it growled and bit at her. Leo lifted the foot that had crushed it's arm and held it above the trolls chest. She looked around, like she was expecting to see the man walking out of the trees in an effort to save it. . . .
But there was no one.
She lowered her foot one last time, crushing the trolls ribs and ending it's life.
She stepped off of it, and began to comb the trees, looking for the man. She didn't have to look long as the man summoned a spell. . .
Leonara looked down to see the trees moving on there own, wrapping themselves around her legs and waist. Her eyes got wide and she began to hack and slice at them in a panic, but they just kept coming. She struggled against them but ultimately had to retreat back to the pool.
The man was waiting for her on the opposite bank and as she stumbled out of the grasp of the trees, she nearly caught more spikes but at this point she was sick of the games and used her sword to smash through them. Before he could make more, she charged him. .
It was then that he was forced to use his most powerful ability. His body glowed red, and he raised the staff. What happened next made our jaw drop as a massive ball of fire shot from the staff in the form of a dragon. Leonara sidestepped the initial attack but the Dragon came back around. She used her sword to parry but even though the edge was able to split the fire, but it went around her blade.
That was when we witnessed something even more unbelievable. Leonara's agility. As the dragon came for her face she leaned back at the knees, supporting herself with her hand as the flames passed over her. With a kick of her legs, she flipped over using her arm and sword and a second later she was back on her feet.
The man, myself and Jacob were all taken aback by it. I had never in my life seen a giant move like that. . . But she was about to out do herself. . .
The man pushed forward into the river, the dragon weaving back and forth as it prepared for another attack. It was obvious that the use of the magic was wearing him down as the river more easily pushed him around but still he pressed on. It looked like he only had enough energy to use it one more time.
They squared off. . .
The man began to glow a deeper, darker shade of red, and the flame dragon got even larger, matching Leonara in height. Without warning, it surged forward.
This time, Leo didn't parry and instead threw her sword at the man, causing a massive splash. She used the distraction to turn and run, with the dragon hot on her heels. She ran to her right and in two bounds she scaled the side of the cliff and was 75 feet up on the waterfall.
What she did next shocked me to the core. . .
Leonara leapt from the edge, getting as much height as she could. . .
She cleared the dragon, and all we could do was watch as her shadow grew bigger and bigger over the man. It seemed to happen so slow. . . . Her boots closing in on him.
At the last possible second, the flame dragon vanished and I thought I saw another blue orb before the impact. . .
That impact. . . . Unlike anything I had ever felt before.
Even though we were on a different. . . . Plane? . . . The impact still affected us. Both myself and my brother were thrown back into the trees on the left side of the river and drenched in water. The leaves were blown from the branches and every animal within 300 yards took off.
By the time we were back on our feet it was all over. Leonara was standing with her feet together where the man used to be. . .
I was relieved to see that the man wasn't smashed, but his lifeless body was floating in the pool by her ankle, the water red now. Leonara reached down and delicately plucked the staff from the water and tucked it away for safe keeping, before she grabbed the man.
His limp form was eclipsed in her hand the same as Jag and for a split second, I was back at the mine watching her toy with a man's life like it was nothing. I shook the vision from my head and just watched what she planned to do now.
This time, she wasn't playful or curious and before two seconds had passed I heard the unfortunate sound of flesh and bones being crushed inside a fist, followed by the drip of blood into the water.
Leonara dropped the crumpled corpse into the pool unceremoniously before she walked to the shore. . .where she stopped and stood, motionless.
As if she had a second thought, she turned around and walked back over to the man's body. She knelt and scooped it from the water again. She seemed to examine it closely, and everything seemed calm. . . But unexpectedly, she wrapped both hands around him and wrung his body like a dish rag. Every bone in his body that hadn't been crushed in her fist, was obliterated now. .
She carried the mangled mess to the shore and sat down, placing his body down and grabbing her hair in her hands. She squeezed the water out of it and began piling branches. Next, she removed her boots and placed them next to the pile. She stood up and walked barefoot back into the water to grab her sword.
Time seemed to shift forward and the next time it returned to normal, she had a fire started and was now drying her clothes. When they were dry, she stood up and prepared to leave. Just as she was about to go. . . . She reached over and tossed the corpse into fire.
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter got pretty long, but a lot of good stuff I think.