Page 26 of The Tricksters Deception

“If that is your desire. My men and I were simply told to prevent the Orc tribe from getting too close. I assume now that we have bumped into you on the way, they will only be a day’s ride behind.” Turning to me he very directly states, “It’s clear you do not understand our customs so let me give you a piece of advice. There is a reason everyone stays clear of Tricksters and I would suggest you do the same. An escort of a Trickster and a Pixie is hardly a strong party.”

“I will be fine.” I grumble without meaning to. From around the building two men in armored uniform approach, their shiny silver armor accented with gold trim.

“Sir,” One begins, the sound of his voice muffled by the helmet he wore, “, we’ve been sent word that the Orcs are circling the towns and taking an indirect route to the city. They are travelling through the night.”

“Oh I see,” Talon ponders, a hand at his own chin, “, then I suppose we best track them down.” He goes to step toward the knights but ceases, turning to Corvu once more. “Try not to kill her, won’t you? It would be a shame.” And without another word he takes off, around the building and out of sight. That was a seriously strange encounter to have. Although I suppose in one way I’m glad that the person to see me use my powers was some kind of Lord. What would a Lord need more power for when they already have an army? Sidetracked in my own thoughts, I don't notice Corvu approach me.

“Are you okay?” He asks.

“Of course? He didn’t even have a weapon on him, I could have taken him.” I snicker, knowing even without a weapon I was still pretty useless with mine.

“He’s a Druid, he doesn’t need a weapon.”

“Oh.” I wonder if Druid’s were the same thing I was familiar with. For now I would have to assume they were. Whenever I wrote one into my stories, they were always capable of great healing and seer-like abilities. I never made mine violent or particularly capable of battle though. Ignoring the fact I just say, “We should get going, if the Orcs really are circling round, we need to beat them there, right?” Without verbally responding he nods.

I’d be really happy with at least one peaceful day.

It’s lunchtime, and although I understand the boys don’t eat that regularly, my stomach refuses to cooperate. That's when I notice a bush with berries nearby. It would be better to source new food rather than eating through our non-perishable rations. The berries in question are ones Gecko has already told me are safe to eat. If they are purple with spiky leaves, they’re safe, but if the leaves are straight, they’re poisonous.

“Hey,” I say, “I’m just gonna grab some of those.” I point toward the bush as I stop my horse. At least I’m finally getting used to riding. The others stop and wait for me but don’t really say anything. Gecko decides to get off his horse and help since there are a few bushes around the area.

We don’t grab too many berries before I feel the ground shaking. I recall a similar feeling from when Gecko and I encountered my first Shorg. I really hope it isn’t another one. I look toward Corvu, who has pulled the horses into the trees instead of staying on the path. Using a hand signal, he suggests we 'get down' as he stands up against a tree.

Thud. The ground shakes again. What is that? I lean down into the bush to try and hide myself. Gecko dashes up the nearby tree—and that boy can really climb. I try to peer through the bush to see where the vibrations are originating from, but I see nothing.

Muffling a scream, I watch in horror as the tree to my left is pulled from the ground, roots and all. Through the gap that now exists in the canopy, I finally see what Corvu is worried about. And there is no way I can mistake this Daemonaria for anything else. It is a giant. A real giant. Although he looks somewhat like a human, his hands are abnormally large, proportionally bigger than the rest of him. He seems to be pulling out trees and collecting them in a sling.

His face reminds me of one of the staff members my boss fired a few months back, a man in his thirties with a beard that spread from ear to ear under his chin but no mustache. The giant has weird bone piercings through his cheekbones. That looks painful. Or are they just horns similar to how rhinos have them? Moving further into the bush, I use my hands to part it in order to get a better look. He has painted himself with black powder to create circular markings up and down his body.

There are a lot of stories about giants; in some cases, they’re friendly, and in others, they want to grind bones to make bread. I look over at Corvu, who is trying to pull the horses out of sight. He seems frightened. I guess that means giants aren’t that peaceful. As the creature leans down to pluck another tree out of the ground, my heart sinks.

Gecko.

I want to scream or tell him to jump, but he is already well aware of what the giant is about to do. Scrambling up higher into the tree to avoid being crushed by the giant's hands, Gecko gets squashed in with the branches, and the giant puts the tree into his sling with the others. I look over at Corvu, who puts a finger to his lips, signaling me to stay quiet. What are we supposed to do? That thing could probably kill us with a mere flick of the wrist. How are we going to get Gecko back?

As the giant collects one more tree, he turns and begins to walk back in the direction he originally came from. I watch carefully. He is fast.

“Come on!” Corvu yells, already mounting his horse and attaching the reins of Gecko’s to his own. I almost trip trying to get up in a hurry, but I manage to mount my horse easily this time.

We take off in the direction of the giant. I haven’t ridden a horse at this speed since the first night we got them. It scares me, the feeling like I am going to fly off at any moment.

We strive hard to catch up to the giant, but he is too quick for our horses to navigate through the terrain. Corvu doesn’t let up, though. Somehow, he seems to know exactly which direction they went, even though I can’t spot the giant footprints or breaks in the trees. I have to trust that, despite their differences, he is trying to save Gecko.

Chapter fifteen

Dusk creeps up on us quickly, but Corvu manages to find the entrance to where the giant dwells. In front of a huge hole in the middle of a mountain, surrounded by dead vines and ash. This is not a tourist destination. Corvu empties a few items from his backpack and replaces them with others. Dismounting the horses, we tie them up beside a distant tree and enter the cave.

Corvu has his slingshot in hand, although I don’t imagine this to be as easy as the story of David and Goliath. Either way, it’s better than trying to use my rapier against a giant. The cave isn’t as dark as I expected; there are bits of light shining through a thick ceiling of vine and mud above us. I wonder how that works? I thought this was a mountain? Perhaps the giant built it himself.

Step by step, we get closer to the sound of humming. It isn’t until we reach what looks like an oversized version of Gharp and Sophii’s home that we realize the giant is, in fact, cooking a meal. In the center of the room sits a large handmade table for one, and amongst the gritty walls hang all kinds of pouches, large metal ornaments, and what appear to be weapons. The giant is further to the left, occupied by something he's doing on a stone he's turned into a bench. Corvu turns to me.

“Giants use a lot of forest vegetation in their food. They don’t approach humans or Daemonaria directly, but if you’re in their home, it’s basically free food to them. Don’t get caught.” That's encouraging. Looking around, I point to the sling, which now hangs from the big chair beside the table. Gecko must be inside. My stomach churns as I wonder if he's okay after the giant put him in there, and then another tree on top. What if he's dead Corvu pulls out a rope from his backpack and throws it around the chair leg, catching it on the other side. Handing one end to me, he instructs, “We’re going to use this to climb. Take my hand, and we’re going to walk up the leg. Okay?” It sounds risky, and the climb alone is at least three stories. I'm definitely going to fall and die.

Gecko is more important than my fear.

The giant probably can’t see us. It’s not even facing our direction, completely occupied by whatever it’s doing. With the rope securely wrapped around my right wrist and Corvu’s hand in my left, we start walking up the leg. This is some impressive physics. Has Corvu done this before or did he just work this out as we got here? As we reach the top, Corvu and I step up and are now on a flat surface. My hand is hurting a lot, but we’re so close.

Running across the seat, I peer into the sling, but I can’t see Gecko. Did he already get out? Or was he crushed under the trees? Corvu doesn’t hesitate to jump into the sling, despite it being a decent drop. He then indicates for me to jump. He’s crazy. There’s no way I’m going to be able to land on an uneven surface and not break something or alert the giant to our presence. He waves his hands again, and I decide to just go for it.

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