Episode Fifteen - Can You Smell Me Now?

Borkum and company set out for the giants. But, something may be looking for them.

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Transcript

I woke up early to the sound of Skyclaw the hawk screeching overhead. The hawk was circling far overhead looking out for us, and for a tasty breakfast of rabbit or squirrel.  

“Does Skyclaw see anything?” I asked Hawk Tuah, as I swallowed some warm water from my water skin and stretched the hard knots out of my body. 

“Nothing yet,” Hawk Tuan replied gloomily. 

The camp was awake and everyone was eating their cold breakfast of jerk meat and black bread. The group seemed a little gloomy, which I thought was odd. 

Normally they were quite chipper.

“I do wish for a pot of tea,” Brindle noted, more chipper than the others, but still unhappy.

“Well, let’s get this job over, and then we will be off to better things like a nice pale ale and crispy bacon,” I offered up enthusiastically. 

“Edward, how much further?” I asked our young guide. 

“My family homestead is five miles from here. We will be within the giant’s range soon. The Billicoot’s farm was 2 miles north of here. They were raided and taken three weeks ago. To the south along the creek is the Allhammer farm, they were taken a month ago. I was supposed to marry their daughter in two years’ time or when I killed my first goblin; whichever came first. I say once we get to my family farm, we turn the horses loose and let them head back to the town. They make too much noise, and the wolves will smell their scents from miles away. Tonight, and every night here after, I recommend extreme vigil.” Edward offered with overt gloominess.

“Very well, lets get on with it.” As I rallied my gloomy friends back on to their horses.

We made Edwards home in just over an hour. It was a small cabin, with a barn and several other buildings. The giants had set fire to it all after raiding the place. Now, it was just a charred husk of timbers and memories. The smell of burnt wood penetrated the area.

“Welcome to my home,” Edward offered upon our arrival, depressed at the sight. I think he even shed a tear at the sight.

We dismounted and gathered our packs and gear. I noticed Edward dismounted also and I asked what he was doing. 

“I am going with you,” he replied. “You are going to need an extra hand, and I figure, I owe these giants payback more than anyone. And maybe, just maybe, I can find a survivor in my family.”

“Edward, this is crazy talk, you are too young for fighting giants.” Hawk Tuah replied shocked at what she was hearing.

“I have been hunting since I was strong enough to pull back a bow. I have been alone for days in these hills. I think I am better qualified than any of you at this moment in my own land, lady druid.” Edward replied, a hint of fury in his voice.

“Edward, we do not have any spare weapons. You have no armor. What are you going to fight with?” I asked, thinking I could talk reason into the boy.

“Wait here,” Edward responded as he walked into the burned-out farmhouse and began sifting and digging into the cabins charred floor boards. A few minutes later, we heard him yell out, “Found it!” 

Edward emerged ecstatically from the ruins with a yew long bow nearly as long as he was, and a quiver of twenty arrows. “My father had a safe space under the floor boards where he kept a few things; some coppers, and other things he wanted hidden, and this was one of the things he kept there. He must not have had time to grab it when my family was attacked. This was my grandfather’s bow that was passed to my father, and now it is passed to me. It has been in our family for generations. Just look at this beauty,” he exclaimed as he held it before us.

Lykxnzzl’s eyes went wide when he saw the bow as if he had seen a friendly face. 

“May I see your bow young man,” he asked with all due respect.

Edward handed Lykxnzzl the bow with caution. 

Lykxnzzl ran his fingers across the yew wood as he looked the bow up and down, “This is a very fine bow my lad, a very fine bow. You say you are a great shot with it?”

“I have won the shire championship three years in a row using it! I have beaten all the men at their own game.” He replied cheerfully and with great pride. “I can hit a rabbit from hundred yards and then some if I want.”

“This is indeed a very special bow, my young friend. Do you see these markings here?” Lykxnzzl pointed his finger at the markings engraved in the wood.
Edward just nodded as he leaned in closer.

“These are elvish markings my boy. This bow is of elvish make. And from a very old and distinguished bowyer by the name of Aelarion, which in human language means “son of the trees.” This wood and this bow have been blessed by Aelarion himself, my young archer, using a very special elvish magic that allows the user of the bow to be a much better shot than they deserve. It would even turn our plodding knucklehead of a barbarian friend Borkum here, into a good shot. And anyone who practices with this bow, a most excellent shot.” 

“Do you see these markings here?” Lykxnzzl pointed to several elvish runes on the inside of the bow. “This bow saw action in the goblin wars over a three hundred  years ago. This bow has seen much in its life. I would love to know the story of this bow. Can I see you use it?” Lykxnzzl asked as he handed the bow back to Edward. 

Edward took the bow and looked about and sure enough about a hundred yards away, there was a rabbit in the open field with a stalk of hay in its mouth chewing contently, unaware of what was coming its way.  Edward looked at Borkum and with all the confidence a twelve-year-old  orphan could muster said, “You see that rabbit in the field?” 

“Of course I do,” I replied sarcastically. 

“Watch this,” Edward notched his arrow, took a deep breath, and took aim at the unsuspecting rabbit and released the arrow.

We watched it sail through the air, far above the rabbit, and just keep sailing almost two hundred yards into the field.

“You missed,” I said laughing to Edward. Secretly hoping for this outcome so I could get rid of him. I did not need a boy hanging on with us on an adventure.

“Did I?” Edward countered smugly.

“Edward, I see the rabbit, that rabbit did not even flinch as the arrow sailed so high over his head. You are not coming with us. You are going home. Where it’s safe. Look me up in about five years if you still want to be an adventurer.”

“Are you normally this much of an arrogant ass?” Edward asked.

Hawk Tuan and Elaria, both jumped at the opportunity and replied in unison, “Yes.”  Brindle just nodded in the affirmative.

“I shot the other rabbit in the field, you ass berry. You were watching the wrong one.” Edward retorted. 

Shocked, I looked at Lykxnzzl, who looked back into the field and scanned the deep grass for a few seconds. “Unbelievable.” He muttered under his breath. Lykxnzzl looked at me, “By the gods he did it, he really did hit the second rabbit dead center. That rabbit must have been almost three hundred yards away. Even an elf would have been challenged with that shot.”  The look of shock on Lykxnzzl face was enough.

Both of the girls clapped in their eager excitement of seeing me made a fool of.

“I vote we keep our new friend Edward here in our back pocket.  He can be our rear guard.” Lykxnzzl suggested winking at Edward.

“If he wants to come, let him come. Look at me, I can barely reach a giant’s kneecap, and yet here I am,” Brindle offered up, "I won’t be fighting any giants."
 
I looked at both Hawk Tuah and Elaria and they both nodded their heads with a newfound respect for the boy. 

“It seems the Gods, both old and new, have intervened in our fate this day, and given us an archer to look out over us. I would not question this gift to us Borkum”, Elaria suggested as if leading a sermon.

I had to accept the outcome. The party had voted. And I was outvoted. It was bad luck to go against your party.

“Alright Edward. Here is the deal. You will hang back and be our rear guard. I don’t want you getting in close with these giants. They will squash you like a bug if they get hold of you. You are going to be our rear guard and lookout.” I stuck out my hand to Edward welcoming him to our party.

“Now what,” he asked confused. 

You put your hand on mine, then everyone does it and we say something cool like, “For glory.”

Edward laughed and put his hand on mine, and so did everyone else. In unison, we yelled out, “for glory.”

“We gotta come up with a better catch phrase,” Hawk Tuah laughed.

“Edward, where do you think we should head next?” I asked.

“When I returned home from town that foul day, I found my farm raided. I followed the cattle tracks, three miles west of here, before it got too dark and I had to turn back because of the wolves. I can lead the way. But, no one has found the giant encampment yet,” He said.

“Alright my boy, lets go. Show us the way. But first, can you get the rabbit for Skyclaw?”

Edward did indeed lead the way and became our defacto point man. Fortunately, the cattle tracks were still visible to the untrained eye, so tracking our quarry was simple.  Every so often Edward would point out a large footprint. The foot print was nearly double my own footprint, and I am a big man. I began having second thoughts on this mission.  We made a point to stop every few hundred steps and we would squat down in the bush watching for movement in the grassy hills. You would think finding a hill giant encampment would be easy, but not so this day. 
By dusk, we gave up and decided to settle in for the evening. Even Skyclaw could find no trace of their encampment as he settled back onto Hawk Tuah’s shoulder looking for his evening meal, a fresh cold rabbit.

“Let’s find a place to hide out and sit tight, it is looking like rain in the distance,” I noted.

There was a small hill that was covered with very thick juniper bushes, and I pointed us in that direction. We would have elevation for a tactical advantage, and you could not see through the bushes so we would have the concealment.

We crawled up into the heart of the bushes and then made a small nest in the thicket. We could see out easily enough, but seeing in would be most difficult. I felt this was our best option for hiding and we settled in and we set out to eat our dinner of cold meat and bread and get comfortable. Lighting a fire was just too risky at this point. So, we set Hawk Tuah to watch, and she sullenly took her posts. A cold rain started soon after, making our adventure all the more miserable.

“Wake me in 2 hours,” I asked, as I drifted asleep, thinking of a warm beef stew and fresh baked bread.

I was awoken sometime later by Hawk Tuah, who held her finger over her mouth. I could hear Skyclaw screeching high up in a tree nearby, disturbed by something that it saw, and was now trying to warn his dear Hawk Tuah. Rain was still falling lightly, and I was soaked and cold.

Hawk Tuah motioned for me to come take a look at something, and at first my eyes were too fatigued, and I could not see anything. The moon was concealed behind the clouds and there was just a shimmer of silver light finding its way through the darkness. A fog was beginning to rise, and its tentacles were slowly spreading across the valley floor adding to my confusion. I kept staring into the darkness, hoping to see nothing and this was just a false alarm and then I saw something move.

“Was that a tree moving?” I thought to myself. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked again.  It was not a tree. It was a man of enormous size, a hill giant, and he had was bent over at the waist sniffing the ground. He carried a very large tree branch which he used for a walking stick. I was sure it could be used as a club to bash heads in like mine, if need be. 

He was sniffing the air and looking down at something and then he would look back up and look all around. He new something was not right.  Moments later, several giant dire wolves joined him and began sniffing the ground. And, then it dawned on me, like a hammer to an anvil. We were not tracking giants; this giant was tracking us. And he was on our trail. And now he was a mere 100 yards away from us.

“Nut, nuts, nuts,” I mumbled under my breath. as I woke my companions hurriedly.  

“We got giants,” I whispered quietly. 

We gathered our weapons and made ready as quietly as we could. We still had a tactical advantage. Maybe. 

The hill giant stood still for several minutes. Many times, he lifted his nose into the air and sniffed; then looked about looking for something that was not quite right for him. The wolves were busy sniffing the ground and looking about. They could smell something also. They all new something was not right.

By luck and by the Gods, we were downwind from this wolfpack, and the rain helped conceal our scent. That was just a stroke of good luck for us. After about five minutes of this standoff, someone behind me shifted their weight and stepped on a stick, snapping it. The giant turned his head and stared right at the thicket we were hiding in. 

“Oh, no,” I whispered out loud.