noveltune Chapter 29: Making a Friend
Chapter 29: Making a Friend
Chapter 29: Making a Friend
Chapter 29
I paused as Mage Durandus was still gazing at the storm. I asked tentatively, “So we are done? We scouted. Found the reason for the storm. Are we going to head back now that we know what is causing it?”
He did not respond for a long moment. Then Mage Durandus said slowly, “No. I think we will investigate further. There appears to be only one giant.” He turned and left, moving to his tent, which his men had erected for him. He was definitely not a conversationalist.
I was left there wondering, what is a storm giant? It did not sound good. A giant that could call lightning and raise a mountain in a swamp did not sound like someone I wanted to meet. I went and set up my tent in the middle of the island. One of the shieldmen was doing the same, “Leonidus,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Eryk,” I responded, grasping wrists with him. “So why does everyone have a stick shoved up their ass?”Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com
He scrunched his face as my analogy didn’t quite translate. “You mean, why is no one talking to you?” I nodded. “It takes a while for them to warm up. If Durandus was not around, we might be more prone to conversation. I overheard you talking with Durandus and that he wants to keep going.”
“What is a storm giant anyway?” I asked, finishing my tent setup and laying my oiled cloak on the damp ground to protect my sleeping bedroll. I was planning to change into my dry clothes so I could sleep comfortably, but Leonidus motioned me to wait.
“Give the mage a moment to think. He will dry everyone’s clothes before we sleep.” My eyebrows went up. He finished his tent and said, “Never heard of a storm giant before. We have fought hill giants on two occasions. One grabbed my shield mate and ripped him in half,” he uncomfortably shuddered at his memory.
We didn’t talk for a while as we prepared our respective sleeping areas. Delmar had been right on what I needed to pack. I started gathering twigs and dead wood for a fire. Leonidus stopped me, “No fire. Not out in the wild. Draws the creatures in, and we hate fighting in the night.” He took a small black pouch out and tossed it to me. I opened it to find a glowing oval rock inside. I looked up, curious. He answered my unspoken question, “It is a glowstone.” My face was still blank. “It has stored aether in it. Gives enough light at night to take a piss without tripping over every damn thing. Durandus got everyone one, so night marching was easier. You can borrow mine for the night in case you need to piss.”
“Thanks. How long does it last?” I asked, putting it back in the bag.
“It lasts a few days. Durandus recharges them. Kyle, one of our bowmen, can do it too, but he is usually a pain about it and tries to get something in return,” he replied.
The mage seemed to consider our next action. I was just glad the monstrous giant had not spotted us. Finally, the mage said to no one in particular, “He is not building a lair. No, he is digging for something.” Our heads barely peeked over, but he signaled everyone back. He called his four lieutenants to him for a strategy session. I was not privy to the words exchanged.
Orders were given. We were to wait on the mud-soaked lip of the crater. When the storm giant was resting, we would attack. It was terrible because we ended up in the heaviest rain on the lip of the crater, and I took out my cloak, but that just meant all my dry clothes were not going to be protected from the heavy water. I huddled in my cloak, hoping that whatever the attack plan happened to be, it would go well.
The storm giant seemed tireless, and I could feel the muddy earth surge underneath me every few minutes as he moved it. If the mage was correct and he was searching for something, I wondered what it might be. It started getting dark, and a whisper came down the line, “He is resting. Shield Wall Ready!”
No one had told me what my role in the fight would be. Staying at the back and handling the wounded sounded like a good plan to me. I even pulled two of the full healing potions and one of the lesser to my hand from the dimensional space.
The shield wall headed straight toward the giant with the spearmen behind them. Mage Durandus followed this group at a distance. To the right, the swordsmen lead the way with the archers behind. It was clearly a flanking maneuver by Durandus. I moved behind the archers.
The giant noticed us and stood and watched, unconcerned, as we made our way down the muddy slope. Keeping their ranks in the rocky mud was difficult, but they did an admirable job. The sky roiled above us and grew thicker. A lightning bolt flashed down toward the shield wall, but the man it struck glowed, and the bolt raced into the ground, not affecting anyone.
So the mage did have a plan. If the giant’s lightning ability did not work and we closed to the range, we could possibly take down the towering man. I could tell the failed attack had emboldened the shield wall as they drew short swords. The giant seemed to consider and then picked his own weapon off the ground. A weapon was an understatement. It was as thick as a man and nearly nine feet long. The giant twirled it easily, and you could hear it whistle in the air, even in the storm conditions.
A second lightning strike occurred amongst the archers. Once again, it had no effect, going into the ground, but I noticed Durandus stumble slightly. Was the spell drawing aether? That could be bad if it drained him before we engaged.
The shield unit reached the bottom of the crater, and the spears were thrown on command from the ranks behind them, and only two penetrated the giant’s thigh and chest. He roared in anger and charged the shield wall. The giant built speed, and instead of swinging his sword, he went into a feet-first slide. His massive frame bowled through the shield wall and even past the spearmen. He had taken a few slashes but quickly stood. The mage was now directly in front of the giant, a malicious grin on his face.
He roared as he swung the massive sword, and Mage Durandus stood confident. A ball of energy flared around him before the sword connected. Then that ball of energy, and the mage in the center, was sailing through the air two hundred feet to my right. Far away from everyone. The giant pointed at the archers, and a lightning strike came down again. This time the man it struck exploded and tossed the men who had been around him to the ground. My ears were ringing, and I had some gore on me from the exploded archer.
I was halfway down the mud-soaked crater. The shield wall was quickly forming again to face the giant, with the spearmen rotating to the back for another volley. I needed to decide if I should get the potions to the archers or go and try to get Mage Durandus back on his feet. If I lived through this, I decided I never wanted to fight a giant again.