'Are you going to tell me what we are dragging this stinking carcass for? The stench is making me feel dizzy!' Nelevin said, trying in vain to waft the foul odour of the giant's corpse from his nostrils. He glanced at Rizdok, but he looked preoccupied with his thoughts.
The mountains had faded, and instead there where empty and broken buildings surrounding them. Nelevin had never been this far away from home, had never seen anything outside the forest borders. The buildings were far different from the ones he had seen in Hondale; for starters they were taller and broader, and showed an amazing attention to detail. Each corner, archway and fascia was crafted and sculpted with great skill, adorning the already beautiful and grand buildings. It was unnerving that such magnificence appeared to be deserted, without any sign of struggle or panic. There was definitely an eerie air to the place, as if the town itself was watching them walk through the streets.
'I will show you the path to take. I will lead you from the sins of this world!'
High Priest Guadelin spoke with authority, in the otherwise silent chamber. His congregation sat facing him, spellbound and silent, all conformed to his ways. They were giants which is, at first, very intimidating. Especially for a man of the cloth with no combat experience or training, but his experience in delivering the word of God to the masses had him prepared for the chance encounter with these colossal creatures.
There was a different side to giants. They had a terrible reputation for angry, violent attacks on people, crushing their bones to powder and eating their victims while they screamed in pain. Of course, it was all true; they ate people. But that wasn't the extent of their diet, and they didn't go out in search of a tasty human morsel. They only ate people when they felt provoked, threatened, or there just wasn't anything else to eat. Most giants tended to stay away from eating humans because they thought they were 'too fatty, taste like rubber'.
Now, they were his flock. He felt that they were his family, and it was his responsibility to look after them, to make sure they lived by God's rule. They lived at Allchun in relative peace, after they had persuaded the townfolk to move on. It hadn't taken much - an army of giants marching through the streets was enough to see most of the inhabitants flee, and the stubborn few that did stay and fight made a good meal for the family.
Allchun was far from civilisation now, the nearest neighbours in Hondale had to travel through the treacherous Hell's Valley pass, between the mountains of Alldorn. Not only was the path unsafe, but it was home to many predators and bandits. Nobody came through that way, not these days, and that was fine with Guadelin. He wanted the family to live in peace, but there were others who had other ideas. He had been labelled as a crazy heretic, and had a price on his head as a result. Several groups of mercenaries had tried to stop him, all of them failing to overcome the might of the giants. He wasn't sure who was financing these attacks, but they had stopped with the last visit from the Rufa assassins. The Rufas were not particularly competent as killers, but they were cheap and would not give up at all; they could only be persuaded to stop by their own deaths. This hadn't been a problem at all for the giants, they had overcome the assassins before any weapons were drawn. It was almost a month since, and they had been living happily without intrusion.
'Sshhh! Do you hear that?' Nelevin whispered.
They both stopped. A gentle breeze caught some dead leaves, and they danced around the pair as if connected by string.
'Hear what? Now's not the time Nel, there could be more giants around the corner and I don't fancy getting eaten today.'
'Just listen. I can hear voices, muffled voices.'
They stood in silence again. The faintest sound of murmuring floated across the wind.
'There! Did you hear that?' Nelevin's voice was barely audible as he mouthed the words to Rizdok.
Rizdok nodded and pointed towards the great structure in the middle of the town, only a half-mile ahead of them.
They headed down a side alley, dragging the giant corpse with them. Nelevin wasn't sure what would happen next, and had a feeling that Rizdok felt the same.
'Are you going to let me in on this plan of yours?'
Rizdok stared at him for a moment, then said, 'The giants are protecting Guadelin. He has their trust, which must have been difficult. Giants don't like humans, so he had his work cut out. I'm guessing that he is going to use them for some sort of gain, but I haven't worked that bit out yet. Anyway, the plan is to turn the giants against him - let them do our job for us, and we don't have to get our hands dirty.'
'My hands are already filthy with this bugger's blood and guts! And you haven't really explained the plan - how are we turning them against the one who has befriended them?'
'I haven't worked that bit out yet either.'
Nelevin looked at the cadaver. Where did it fit into this detailed plan?
'Don't worry Nel, he is going to be useful. One thing I know about giants: they hate to see their own kind killed. They will want revenge, and they will stop at nothing until they get it. It will send them into a blood lusting frenzy, and anything that gets in their way will be crushed.'
Nelevin looked up, straight into the eyes of his partner. He saw conviction, unwavering belief in what he had just said.
'Is that supposed to put my mind at ease? A herd of giants rampaging after us?'
Rizdok rolled his eyes and sighed. 'No, not us Nel. We make it look like Guadelin killed him.'
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