Path to Chiefdom III

Gringar releases his great axe just in the knick of time as he rolls to the side of the mighty blow.

The giant's club embeds itself in the ground as I jump up on its back, stabbing my blade into its neck as Gringar recovers his footing and wraps his arms the best he can around the giant.

Using his heavily armored orichalcum chest plate to force his axe blade deeper into the giant, even cracking his sternum with the force of his bear hug, crushing the last of the giant's resistance as the light faded from its eyes.

All the while, Yamarz stood back and watched as we fought, not seeming to want to lift a finger in our aid.

With the giant dead, Gringar rips his great axe from its chest, revealing that his armor now has a small cut on the front from the amount of force behind his earlier grapple.

I look at the giant for several moments while Gringar is cleaning his axe.

'What is it?' I think to myself as something about the giant seems off, but I can't quite figure it out.

He looks to be like any ordinary man, but with pale, almost grey skin and thick black, rope-like hair that goes down his back. His body is fairly well-toned, but he's not quite muscularly built like me; however, in terms of height, I only come up to around his stomach.

Making him at least ten or eleven feet tall and covering himself in what appears to be a mammoth wool loincloth, his chest sporting a long flowing and circular scar ending in his new chest wound.

Looking at his face, I see the start of a couple of horn nubs coming out of his forehead and a minor underbite similar to that of an orc.

It's then it hits me, 'He's young?'...

'Wait, aren't most giants normally sickly-looking monsters? Why is this one different?' I'm lost thinking to myself when Yamarz speaks up.

"Good job, the shrine should be just ahead." Yamarz says after Gringar finishes adjusting his gear, though this compliment only elicits a growl from Gringar who ignores him.

"Don't worry, we're almost done." I reassure him after tearing myself away from the giant and starting towards the exit of the cave.

"We better be, Blüdtoth... I don't know how much longer I can suffer this fool." Gringar mumbles back to me under his breath.

I simply nod in agreement before exiting the cave to find a completely unexpected sight.

In this crevice between mountains stood an imposing statue of Malacath, but around this statue weren't two or three giants, but in fact, dozens of giants.

They seemed to be a group comprised mostly of young male warriors, similar to the one who had guarded the cave's exit, but there also appeared to be a handful of female giants in the group.

The group was split between three large bonfires, with one massive and imposing giant using Malacath's shrine base as a chair while resting his chin on the head of a giant war hammer.

{Stop! We have enemy children!} A booming voice echoes throughout the canyon as the rest of the giants stop their festivities and draw their weapons.

The chief stands a good twelve to possibly thirteen feet tall as he deftly hefts his mighty war hammer onto his shoulder as most giants typically do with their bone clubs.

Despite being the tallest here, he, like the young giant before, also has a circle scar on his chest, with another lean build and pale, ashen grey skin.

However, he has three rows of horn numbs on his forehead, a somewhat more pronounced underbite starting to be hidden by the growth of a beard, and his long hair has several large beads and stones of differing colors woven into it.

Another mammoth wool loin cloth covers his lower body as he quickly brings the hammer back with one hand.

"Who are you calling children, you fucking bastard?!" I shout as I feel my blood begin to boil after seeing the giant sitting on Malacath's shrine.

I draw my sword even as every ounce of logic left in me seems to be screaming to get the duck out of here.

I faintly hear a lone set of armored footsteps running back into the cave entrance as I ignore it and stare down the giant chieftain.

Though unexpectedly, instead of charging at me, he holds up his hand, stopping the approaching giants with a simple gesture.

{Hold... This child speaks with the Earth-Father's tongue... Perhaps he is my challenge?} The giant's bellow echoes throughout the area again, causing the others to lower their clubs.

{Speak green child, are you the challenge sent by Earth-Father? Have you come to fight or flee like your comrade?} The giant questions me, leaving me at a loss for words as I take a quick look behind to notice, unsurprisingly, that Yamarz has fleed into the cave we'd just come out of.

"Ha! This will truly be a good death!" I hear Gringar exclaim in almost maddening joy before he notices the giants have stopped advancing and even lowered their weapons.

"Blüdtoth! What's going on? I want my good death!" Gringar whines in disappointment.

"I think their chief wants a one-on-one fight with me..." I tell Gringar before returning my attention back to the giant who has been waiting patiently for my response.

"I don't know your Earth-Father, but I have come to drive you from this place and take that hammer!" I shout to the giant, causing a few of the giants in the crowd to laugh before seeming to translate for the others who also join in.

Their laughs ring like rolling thunder through my ears as I fear the noise alone might cause a nearby avalanche.

"What's so funny?!" I shout, enraged by their dismissal.

The chief holds up his free hand to silence the giants once more, though he seemed to be suppressing a smile himself, before speaking.