The Etherworld Giant

Hunters and the Hunted (part II)

       Two major questions crossed James' mind as he sat in the brush, only steps away from the conversation, listening in utter silence. The first was, "Who are these people to be hunting me, the Giant, who has the cursed reputation of being a brutal killer?" And his second question was, "What on earth is with those three, to be able to terrify these men?" The thought made him shiver. He shook it off, then began a mental conversation with himself, trying to reason what he should about his current situation. He is being pursued, and obviously by people who at least think they know what they are doing. He could simply push himself for a few days, leaving them far behind, but then he would have to sacrifice finding food, which was not the best prospect for him. Ambushing them right now perhaps would be the best way to ensure that they could not cause him problems later, but the thought of killing again made him sick. Many nights he was tormented by the faces he saw in battlefields past, and the guilt of knowing that he had caused great pain and suffering for many. He would not repeat it. It was the absolute last option he would choose before allowing his own death.

       He decided to weigh in his other options. He might try talking them, pushing them into letting him be. It would require a lot of threats, that he would not plan to carry out, which just might intimidate them enough to agree. But then as he though about it, he was sure they would not back down. Based on the reaction of the men to the threat of being cursed, he was sure they would follow him to his grave if they had to in order to avoid it, and that worried him too. Was that woman serious about cursing them? And what about the other two creepy ladies? He would have immediately discounted the idea just a few years before, but he had experienced something that he thought was  impossible, and now he wondered if this was also one of those "impossible" things that might happen now. If he could know more about who they were and why they were so adamant about pursuing him, even going as far as to threaten those who were helping them, he might better know what course of action to take. Then an idea struck his mind. "What if I could grab one of the men while they are asleep, drag him away, and question him about it all?" He had used that tactic before during the early part of the war, and it worked extremely well. The thought of it brought an impish grin to his face. Double whammy. Get the information, and let the man go to tell the rest  how terrifying the Giant is. Yes, that was his plan. He would need to be patient, just as but half an hour ago when he was watching the deer. He was again the hunter. And now the darkness was completely set.

        The men had just finished their meal of bread and crude porridge and began laying out their bed rolls. A chilled breeze blew through the clearing, dancing with the flames like the most elegant of dancers, displaying itself also within the shadows. The three robed women sat side by side around the fire. The few men around the fire kept themselves noticeably distant from them, glancing every few seconds, wondering if their expressionless faces would ever change. All three were facing the fire, with their eyes closed, as though they were asleep. Their hands were clasped together in the lap of the one in center. One man with a light beard developed a puzzled expression, wondering if the three had fallen asleep and if they would prefer to retire to more proper sleeping arrangements. He walked over to them and extended his hand to shake them. "Henrer!" Another man hissed between gritted teeth. "Don't touch them! You wouldn't want them to curse you, now would you? Get back over here now!" 

       As he began to walk back, and eerie whisper, gentle as the wind, echoed through their minds, raising the hair on the back of their necks. "Silence... we are searching for the Giant." 

       Through the valley and over the hills they searched, seeing in their mind's eyes a blurry but distinguishable flow of the landscape. Passing through trees and seeing through rock, their power of "mind gazing" was extremely useful, but still limited. Their focus could be on only a small area at a time, enough so to distinguish the facial features of those in a room; but everything outside of that focus was a dark blurr. Their gaze flew across the land faster than the wind, searching for the slight glow given off by the minds of living creatures, brighter for more intelligent ones. They had searched a great distance into the land ahead of them, and found only animals moving about. They were becoming weary, and their focus was fading. They opened their eyes with a deep breath. The men stood petrified on the other side of the fire, which was now mostly embers. The tallest of the three, Janet, stood. "I must rest now," she said stepping away from the fire, then added, "I suggest you do so as well." That was an order, one that Lisset and Madria knew better than to disobey. She then walked away, her brunnette hair bouncing against her grey robe with each step. "We will," Lisset said softly with a nod. She stood. "Come," she said, placing a hand on Madria's shoulder. Madria pulled off the hood of her black robe, revealing her long dark hair. She looked up at Lisset with a scowl on her face.