A Giant Problem

"Aes!" I cried out, touching my temple. "Ri! Zin!"

Fug! I internally cursed, lowering my hand as I remembered that I had yet to replace the defunct communicator on my temple. That's the first purchase I make when we get to a magosdrome.

Frozen in fear at the thought of losing my companions, I suddenly realized that I was still flying. That knowledge alone informed me that the triop, or at the very least Rionriv, was still conscious and with no sign of their bodies or blood littering the ground beneath me, I assumed they had survived. It was in that moment that I watched my companions emerge atop the carriage. Rionriv and Aesandoral were scanning the horizon, while beneath, Sharzin threw the deceased driver from his seat as she took the reins.

"You okay?" I yelled out as loud as I could, hoping my voice would reach them without me needing to approach.

As I hovered, I took the chance to scan the area for the remaining carriages. This was something that I regretted immediately, my heart dropping as I took in the surroundings. The status of the remaining caravan was grim. With their first salvo of boulders, the giants had culled half of the train. Meanwhile, the soldiers meant to protect us had been caught equally unprepared and, even at a distance, appeared to be in dire straits.

I watched in horror as horses, each bigger than a pickup, were ripped in half like they were nothing more than peapods. As their blood spilled over the grounded riders, the caravan's defenders were crushed underfoot, exsanguinated like toothpaste from a tube. But those few were the lucky ones who died instantly. Some of the mercenaries, hired because they were as ferocious as they were costly, drew the short straws on fate, only to be ripped from their mounts and lifted skyward. Their limbs were plucked like petals from a flower, leaving them with no way to flee or flail as they were dipped face-first into the gargantuan jaws of the cruel creatures. Wriggling torsos fell limp as heads were nibbled off like grapes from a vine.

Of all the monsters in this world, the ferocity of the giants made them by far one of the baddest beasts in the land. But even they had their downsides. Usually only coordinated in the first round of combat, they slowly devolved into a group of wild beasts driven only by bloodlust. If a group of well-armed adventurers survived the initial contact, there was a high probability that they could escape with their lives. Though by the look of the caravan, few would have that chance.

As I continued to investigate the hellscape that had formed beneath me, I began to hear the terrified voices of survivors. At a glance, it appeared that two of the travellers had survived their carriage’s initial destruction and were now being pursued by a nearby giant.

“Help,” I heard them frantically crying. "Help us!"

Glancing back to my departing carriage, I instinctively reached for my temple again before stopping myself. I knew that if my companions got too far away, I wouldn't be able to protect them from any more flying boulders. That said, if I got into trouble fighting giants by myself, it could quickly become game over for me, too.

"Flying man, help ussss!" The pair rushing my direction cried up at me.

“Shit,” I cursed, looking down once more to see the giant nearly upon the duo. “Fug it! Plan B.”

I reached into the bottomless bag affixed to my hip, withdrawing the signal wand and pointing above me. With a shot skyward, I sent up a purple flare, trusting that my party would see it as I readied myself to save the escaping travellers. Needing to engage the beast quickly, I kicked off the air, rocketing myself towards the giant as magic pooled in my fists.

The giantkin I approached, towering thirty feet tall with brownish-grey leather for skin and wearing simple rags for clothing, would have been considered on the smaller side of its nomadic tribe, even potentially still a teenager. If I were lucky, and it was the latter, that would mean its bones were less developed than the rest of the giantkin present. And since weaker giants broke more easily, I'd be sure to take advantage of that when fighting solo against them. So, watching as the fat, grubby hands reached towards the closest of the escapees, I lined up my shot.

With a loud growl, I came in at an angle, striking the giant across its dense jaw. I watched as the impact landed, discharging the briefly pooled magic and sending a shockwave outwards. The head twisted away from me at an unnatural angle, spraying teeth and steaming hot blood across the tall grasses. The hands that had nearly taken hold of the survivor pulled away with the rest of the body, connecting with the ground hard enough to rumble the earth.

As the giant bounced from the impact, its body twitching slightly in its final moments, I hovered above the two figures. I examined my hands, feeling pride wash over me at the thought of how cool I must have looked before glancing smugly at the figures beneath me. Standing there in blood-stained tunics, wet pants, and wearing terrified looks, was an elf with slicked back hair and a dwarf with a snapped stogy hanging from his lips. As they stopped to behold me, the elf gasped and pointed my way.

"Are you—"

“Keep running,” I ordered them, pointing in the direction I had last seen the triop's cart moving. “Flag down the returning carriage and they'll—”

Suddenly, a roar drew my attention away from the pair as a second giant had begun to charge from the nearby treeline. Shooting another purple flare skyward, I abandoned the survivors to charge forward. With a kick at the air, launching myself forward at top speed, it wasn't long before I entered the giant's grappling range. Much taller and more developed than the last, I luckily knew that even in a frontal assault, these foes could be pretty easy to beat if you were smart about it. As simple as it seemed, the trick was to avoid getting caught in their hold. The minute you were in a giant's grasp, it was nearly impossible to escape their intense strength, and it quickly became munching time.

With my wrappings glowing burgundy from the pool of magic, I began my ascent, corkscrewing up from the assaulter's feet. As large hands, twice the size of the previous giant's, reached for me, I kicked off the air, dodging to the side before coming up from behind it. Delivering a solid punch, I connected at the back of its skull, sending the giant tumbling forward. With held breath, I watched as it fell to the ground, cracking the earth around it as it bounced. Though this time, I made sure not to get overconfident. This giant was larger than the last, meaning its bones were more than dense enough to withstand the blow I had delivered. So, withdrawing my quarterstaff, I flew down to finish the job. 

In the seconds it took me to descend, the creature had already begun to stir, attempting to push itself back to its feet. But it was already too late. As magic flowed down my arms into the end of my staff, I gave it two quick swings. The weapon cracked against both sides of the giant’s weakened skull, caving them inwards with mighty blows. That was when, with its final breath, the giant released a deafening cry that pierced my one good ear, dizzying me before it finally collapsed to the ground.

As vertigo set in, I landed atop the giant’s corpse and reached for my head. Blood dripped from my ear and nose as I struggled against the tinnitus. It was from this position that I felt them. Felt the rumble of the ground as the new threats approached me from every angle.  

Still unable to hear, I flew forward and up, barely dodging the bloody fingers of a second giant. Slipping past its grasp, I turned back to behold the creature looking at me intently as it swallowed the last of its food. Which, judging by the sword that was stuck in its side, had been one of the soldiers.

As I corkscrewed my way out of the giant's reach, flying higher and higher into the sky, I scanned the battlefield. It was then that I realized our mercenary escort and their warhorses had all but been defeated. With nothing left to distract them, the giants had split into two coordinated groups, as half chased down the remaining carriages and the others began to encircle me.

B-battlefield coordination? I thought, patting at my ear and stretching my jaw in an attempt to stop the ringing.

“Well, crap,” I muttered, beginning to search the surrounding hills for a particular carriage that I hoped would be returning to me. “Come on, you three. I can’t fight them all by my lonesom—.”

Scanning the battlefield for my triop, my train of thought was interrupted as a boulder collided with me. For the briefest second, my world went dark, and then, when I returned to consciousness, I quickly realized that I was falling. The one that had nearly gotten hold of me before was below, waiting. In a crouch, prepared to lunge, I could see it calculating when the right time would be. Then, with a leap strong enough to crater the earth around its feet, the giant flew skyward. Outstretched hands came for me, a monstrous grip looking to take hold of the one responsible for downing two of its giantkin comrades.

With a surge of magic into my staff as I plummeted, the minute the hand reached for me, I swung with all my strength. My weapon connected with the wrist of the creature an instant later, and I listened to the snap it made in that single, quick strike. Breaking the bones and severing tendons, I knew that it wouldn't be able to grab hold of me. At that, I activated my flying once more and kicked off into the air to move away from the giant. But the beast was too quick, as, reaching for me with the other hand in a frightful flash, it took me by the leg.

“No!” I cried out as it yanked me down to the ground with it.

As we landed, I felt the limb pull taut before pain surged through it. With a loud pop that I felt reverberate through my body, I knew that my hip had been dislocated. 

"GYAAAH!" I screamed out as the giant, unfazed by the rough landing, swung me around by the limp limb, in preparation to throw me into its mouth. 

“Fug you!” I cried out, trying to swing my staff, but missing my strike as I was flung to the side.

Not good, not good, not good!  I panicked as the giant's arm swung up. I have a feeling that becoming giant food is a bit beyond the bangle's resuscitation capabilities.

But it would appear that, whether I liked it or not, this fate was what I had to look forward to. With my flight still active, I squirmed and fought, waiting for the right moment to flee. And, as the giant attempted to toss me into its mouth, I took my chance. Trying to escape a final time, I made it several feet only to have the massive hand take hold of my entire body.

Feeling its crushing grip squeeze down on my body tight enough to make my bones crack and pop, I watched in horror as a feral snarl presented itself before me. No longer interested in tossing me back like a man-shaped gusher, it was clear that the plan was now to simply thrust its entire hand towards its mouth, with my head going in first. But I wouldn't stop. I wouldn't give up so easily. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I squirmed and fought until the last second. It wasn't until the afternoon sunlight was blotted out by the cavernous palate that I winced, preparing for the end as my head dipped past teeth. 

Then, suddenly, there was no mouth. In fact, opening my eyes to the afternoon sun revealed that there was no head. The grip immediately loosened, releasing me enough that I could quickly retreat high above the reach of the other grabby hands that had begun to swing for me. It was then, as I raced skyward, that I quickly surveyed the battlefield once more, now looking for a sign of what had been my saving grace. 

That was when they burst onto the scene, their badly beaten carriage pulled by a pair of horses charging at full speed and clearing the nearby foothill like some sort of Duchesses of Hazard. A trio of beautiful women rode on the outside of the vehicle, with the foremost figure being Sharzin, who appeared to be barely maintaining her hold on the reins from the driver's seat. Meanwhile, standing on the near-convertible level rooftop, Rionriv had her hand on Aesandoral’s shoulder. Magic noticably channelled from the sorceress into the archer as she nocked another arrow before firing a shot powerful enough to cleave the head off a second giant.

"Gods," I muttered, wincing through the pain of my broken leg and numerous fractured bones. "They're so badass!"