Chapter 11
The first warning that there was a problem came in the form of a large rock plummeting from the sky. The second, was a bellowed command, in a guttural and booming voice, “Stop where you be and gimme dat horse. Or I gets ta throw more rocks.” To accentuate the point, another boulder the size of their horse’s head, carved a deep furrow in the ground and cracked against the first stone that had been thrown.
Going slowly had advantages when it came to stopping, and Leira took full advantage to come to an immediate halt. As she did so, a massive figure stepped out from behind a copse of trees. “Giant,” she muttered to Jym who was already making his way to the back of the wagon to check on Davien.
“Good! Now gets down and out o’ my wagon. You got, like, this many counts to get away before I eat you too.” The giant held up his massive left hand, four fingers sticking up, the thumb tucked into the palm. He quickly brought one finger down and howled laughter, “Better get goin’!”
Jymgreen, quickly tugged at the ropes that harnessed his friend to the meager ‘bed’ they had for him to rest on. “No need to get you squashed today my …” Before he could finish his statement he received a shock to his already quickly beating heart.
Davien sat bolt upright and screamed an incoherent scream, his eyes unfocused and sweat pouring from him. Jym, excitable as always, also screamed. More laughter issued from the giant who was striding in their direction, a rock in one hand and two fingers thrust skyward on the other.
The screaming died down after only a moment, though Davien’s eyes remained unfocused as though he were not really seeing what was around him. As his eyes slowly focused on Jymgreen, the goblin said, “Hey buddy, we are in a spot here. Giant coming in to greet us.”
Leira interrupted him, “One finger left and he is halfway here.”
A thump on the ground near the wagon caught her attention. “Damn, got another one.” Laughter peeled through the air, as not one but two more voices joined in.
“Whoops! My brothers dun play the same as me. Time is up.” The first giant barely had to raise its voice by this time as it had cleared the halfway point and continued to approach.
“Good grief, if it is not one thing, it is something else entirely, more fricken giants folks,” Leira’s voice betrayed her near the end of the statement.
“Yeah, we are a-okay Leira, just gotta get your boy here up and walkin’ and we can ski-daddle right through the lot of um.”
“No time Jym, they are here!”
The horse, and front of the wagon, were suddenly engulfed in a conflagration. Flame erupted from a broken clay vessel and the horse went berserk. Before they knew what was happening the wagon was careening headlong into the space between the feet of the first giant.
“Oy! I said no fire you buggards! Now we gotta eat um cooked.”
This came from somewhere to the right of the wagon only moments before the horse’s screaming was cut off by a sickening crunch. Which was followed by a howled curse from one of the giants, “Damn, me foot got burned boys. I need an extra bit o’ fat ta rub on it.”
“Can we finish with the bickerin’ an’ divyin’ o’ spoils in a minute. Lookie there boy-o’s we got three little morsels.” The first giant, a crushed horse head in its hand, pointed to the now broken wagon as it spoke. There, Leira, who had been thrown back during the initial flight and then unceremonious end of the horse, and Jymgreen huddled over Davien who was once again unconscious.
“Ah, but lookie, one is dead already. No fun that.”
“He is not dead, but you will be scum.” Jymgreen said this to the first giant.
“I will be Scum?” The first giant looked down at Jym a moment, then said, “No, I be Rip, we got no Scum.”
Jym paused a moment to look at Leira, then laughed hysterically, his face twisted into a rictus grin. “No, imbecile, you are scum.”
The giant, aware he had been insulted, moved quickly and with dire purpose. His hand, as though swatting at a gnat, was open to allow more palm to catch his prey, and catch Jym he did.
Jymgreen was caught, not off-guard but certainly off his feet. He attempted to dash to his left, away from Leira and Davien, but one of the giant outstretched fingers snagged him, ever so barely, and resulted in his capture.
Picking Jym up was easy, for anyone, he weighed next to nothing and the apparent leader of the giants, Rip, quickly said, “He is scrawny, weighs nothing, we cooks um all and then splits um up. And,” he brought the goblin close to his face, “Gut um first, I thinkin’ this one needs it. An’ if ‘e does then so do the others.”