The Harrowing Escape

“It's a tragedy,” Agnes said softly to her grandson Alexander. “A tragedy our reunion must be so brief. But there are still so many giants around. Are you alright?”

“Yes grandmother. Let's follow the path your friends made for us.” He replied, breaking away and turning to Hektor and Chloe. “Sir escort! Fair maiden! You have my thanks for taking care of my family, allow me to lead this retreat.”

Alexander left before he could get a reply. Racing forward and clambering up the stone hydra to burst from the pit towards the crowd of former spectators. Rhek had taken the inititative well to scatter them but the situation called for a quantity of blows not quality. A few were staggering to their feet and collecting weapons, advancing towards the fighting pit to avenge their fallen king. Agnes relished the chance to watch him as she coaxed a stone ramp up to the other side. The lad had become so adept with that blade, turning aside one club blow into a slash to the wrist. Sliding between another's legs but unlike when Tumlin did the same, scoring a nasty wound on an ankle in the process. Leaping to his feet and dodging another blow.

A tear sprung to her eye thinking how proud his father Leo would be to see this day as she made her way up the ramp with her companions in tow. The rattled hostess Melo moved like she might try to stop them, but balked at another shout from Chloe's pistol. Hektor pulled ahead to intercept another giant who had caught their ploy and baited a big swing that he rolled under, boosted by a wave of stone ushered by Agnes that tripped the recovering attacker.

By that point Alexander was free of the throng and making his way to the point Rhek was holding on the main throughfare through camp. Once again, they were confident in their plan and as expected benefitted from the arena battle luring most of the men deeper into the valley. There were still a few veteran soldiers who had gotten in front of Rhek and were keeping him busy, but they weren't prepared for the sudden arrival of the swordsman.

“He's really impressive, isn't he Ms. Agnes?” Hektor asked as he caught up to her.

“Yes! I wish we could just stop and watch for a while.”

“So gallant too!” Chloe cheered as Rhek landed the final blow.

“It sounds like I might be seeing more of you when this is all over.” Agnes replied, making the girl blush.

The three caught up to Rhek and Alexander at the same time as Rhuk in their falcon shape. With one last look at the chaos behind them, they pressed on to the exit of the valley. Rhek scooping up Agnes on the fly to abet a swifter retreat.

“Thank you dear, that knee has been killing me since we left the prison.” She tittered.

“Save strength, forest witch.” He grunted in reply. “Not done yet.”

The group rushed towards the exit of the valley as some of the soldiers marshalled a band to pursue. It was hard to make their way as quickly through Auroch's Pass as their opponents given their familiarity of the terrain. As they stumbled down the twisting slope errant javelins whizzed past and the shouts grew closer.

Finally, they hit the spot in the trail they were looking for. Rhek whirled around in a narrow bend. Making sure the rest of the party made it past as he reached up to hold Agnes in place. She began to wave her shepherd's crook back and forth, slowly coaxing more of the stone into two tendrils that she used to shake and rattle the walls. The cliffs cracked and crumbled, closing the pass as the giant pursuers drew near.

The group used the rest of the day to put as much distance as they could between them and the mountains. Fearing the potential of an alternate route out. The tension kept them on high alert, but they saw no signs of anyone still tracking them. Eventually they came to a small lake much like the one Agnes's team first met the giant siblings. It was Rhek who broke the tension, throwing himself down under the trees with a massive sigh.

“Hah! Should work with little people more often.”

The giant's coarse comment sparked a wave of releived laughter as the sun sank behind the Western mountains. Everyone sprawled out upon the blue steppe grass and tried to grapple with the gravity of what they had just accomplished. Each was so caught up in their own inner decompression they hadn't realized Rhuk's absence until their return, carrying an elk slung over one shoulder.

“Thought we might need food, does our witch have enough left in her to start a fire?”

“Barely.” Agnes replied with a deep yawn. “But don't expect more out of me than that.”

“I'm still completely astounded my grandmother was capable of such sorcery.” Alexander thought aloud before demurring at the dirty looks his comment evoked.

“You know, if Ms. Agnes were a Tumlin she'd be properly venerated.” Hektor spat, letting the boy panic a little before offering him a wry smile. “But I bet I'd feel the same if Granny Nelle started tossing giants around.”

“Then you and I didn't know the same Nelle.” Agnes shot back with a cackle. “Lay off the boy, he's very dear to me.”

Alexander rose to his feet and bowed deeply. “I haven't had the time to properly thank you all,” he began. His words poised and well-considered. “If only I hadn't caused so much trouble for my dear grandmother--”

“--I would have been eaten by a spider.”

“I would have been rotting in a dungeon, missing a hand.”

“We would still be outcasts waiting for the day Dunne got tired of the potential threat.”

“And I wouldn't have had the most fun I've had in years!” Agnes finished, warming her hands by the roaring fire as Rhuk set the elk up to roast. “What they're trying to say dear, is that chasing you may have been the reason things started...but it isn't like we didn't get anything out of the experience. Now come, sit with me. Fill me in on the details Stellios left out.”

Alexander looked up with a jolt. “Stel...he made it home?”

“That he did.” Agnes replied with a warm smile. “Good on you for making sure he got out. Poor boy was so worried about telling me. But out with it boy, I want your tale.”

Alexander complied, sitting with his grandmother by the fire and telling the stories of his exploits as the smell of roast elk filled the air. He talked of traveling woes, their time as actors in Trelle, battling a fearsome pirate on the high seas, and his own foray into Giant Country. The capture, the prison, the breakout, and his time in King Dunne's fighting pits. All the while Agnes, Chloe, and Hektor interjected with their own experiences and in the case of the latter two, repeated assertions the former handled things in a much more impressive way.

“So is that really all it takes?” Chloe asked when the tales had all been told. “I mean, that's still a lot of giants used to working together. The noble families in Trelle don't exactly collapse when there's an assassination. And we didn't even kill Dunne. At least I don't think we did.”

“Wouldn't worry about it, already weird to have that many giants working together.” Rhek grunted, reaching for an elk leg before Rhuk batted him away.

“What he means is...” The younger giant sibling continued. “Is that Dunne was already an oddity for giant leaders. Blinded, he is robbed of his most significant advantage and the superstitious significance it carries. There might be a few giants of his army that band together for revenge, but most likely he will retire to one of the villages higher in the mountains and his men will fracture. They also still have no reason to disbelieve our group was actually supported by major families in the world below. In this case, toppling the king should topple the threat.”

Rhek sat up and looked over the group carefully before adding. “Besides, we keep things in line. Work with seer to make Rhuk a...what fancy word again?”

“Ambassador, brother.”

“Right, sisterbrother ambassador. Very important job.”

“But these things can wait for tomorrow. I think the elk is just about ready.”

After a long day and a hearty meal, the band of travellers found it hard to stay awake. No tent, no bedding, nothing but a group of heroes drifting off to sleep in the warm breeze of late summer. When they woke, it was a jovial trip south to the point they ushered the prison escapees toward. A crag with a narrow passageway that was treacherous, though quick to descend and largely impossible to scale from the other side. As tempting as it was to retrace their entire journey, this shortcut would let the four returning to Agnes and Alexander's village land only a day or two out from Zylpolis.

With a melancholic goodbye for now to their giant friends, Agnes and company made their way down. It felt strange being back in their world, so close to where this journey began. Changed as they were, the environment felt much smaller, more tame than those lofty seas of grass. There was still a feeling of imminent danger until they spied the outskirts of that massive forest, The Wood of Artemis. A challenge that felt trite after all they'd been through, an odd symbol of the safe and familiar on their homeward journey.