Against the Giants

5

The air had been icy cold outside the fort, particularly forAgya who’d had to rub her hands together several times before they were warmenough to manage her metal lockpicks. Mal stood ready with his sword as his ward worked at the massive locks. After several minutes, there was an all-too-loud clack as she freed the innermost tumbler. The door swung open.

Inside, it was cold but not as damp, and the air was stuffy. Malowan smelled unwashed bodies and sweaty furs, but there was no one in sight. Agya stepped away from him, eyes moving nonstop while his were still adjusting to the gloom. It seemed to be a cloakroom, just as Vlandar’s information hadindicated. Huge outer garments hung from pegs. The wall to his right held doors, a double doorway flanked by a single door to each side. At least, Malowan thought, there was room for both of them to hide in here.

Chill air rolled down from above-the guard tower, clearly.Someone up there was snoring.

I forgot how huge everything would be, he thought. Agya must be terrified.

Surprisingly, his ward seemed only interested. She eyed him sidelong as he silently moved across the floor to listen at the entry to the tower passage. Malowan signed that there was only one guard and he was sleeping.

Agya turned to check out the rest of the entry-chamber, and he came over to help.

An overturned ale keg contributed to the sour smell, but damp furs and wet wool seemed to account for most of the stench. Agya eyed the various sacks flung down beneath the rack of pegs and shook her head. Nothing worth searching.

He tapped her arm to get her attention, then signed, This way first. He set his shoulder against one of the main doors, created a space just large enough for her to slip through, then followed, easing it silently shut behind them.

A long, broad corridor led to a vast hall with a high ceiling, thick wooden pillars, and a low-burning fire. He could see chairs, benches, piles of cushions, and a huge table on the other side of the fire, but there was no sign or sound of occupants.

Agya jumped as someone to her left beyond another set of double doors snored one bellowing snort. The doors remained closed, and the noise wasn’t repeated.

Deciding that they were safe for the moment, Malowan set his shoulder against the opposite wall and eased down the long passage. Agya sighed quietly and drew a dagger as she followed.

The chamber-a feasting hall, clearly-was huge. Fire burnedmerrily in a pit at the room’s center, illuminating some things and casting oddshadows over others. Doors on either side of the room were closed, and there was no sound to indicate what might be beyond them.

Malowan glanced both ways, then ran light-footed to the west doors and listened. Agya started toward him, but he shook his head and signed, Food place. Servants. Agya nodded and laid a hand over her lips, indicating she’d be quiet. The paladin smiled, then moved across the chamber to test theeast doors. Safe, he finally indicated. Agya clapped both hands over her mouth and he grinned. “Safe” wasn’t really likely anywhere in the Steading.

He eased one of the doors open so they could slip through. A somewhat narrower, dark hallway led straight on. Malowan could hear at least two giants snoring-sleeping off too much bad wine, no doubt. Moments later, theycame to a cross-point. He eased into the open and listened intently, then moved past a door left partly open. Fire burned sullenly halfway down a long, narrow chamber that he thought must be part of the outer walls-here the logs were asthick as he was tall. There was a door at the far end, and he thought he could sense the cave bear beyond it. Between them and that door, the room was a jumble of tables, chairs, and benches. All of them were littered with cups, dirty plates, and platters. Broached kegs were everywhere. The room reeked of sour wood-fire smoke, unwashed bodies, wet leather, ale, and vomit. Badly preserved trophy heads lined the wall above the fireplace-he could only hope Agya hadn’tseen that one of the heads was human. He touched her hand to get her attention and led the way back into the hall, crossing to check out the door on the opposite wall.

These were heavily barred. Malowan mouthed a reveal spell, then led Agya to the left. The hallway bent west here, another pair of doors at the end. He eased them open, revealing another fireplace-the fire here nearlyburned out-and an almost normal-sized chamber that looked surprisingly neat andalmost businesslike. The table was long and narrow. A chief’s chair sat empty atone end, smaller chairs flanking it. Shelves near the fireplace held odd items, and opposite the hearth, a huge hide was stretched on the wall. Malowan gazed at this, then nodded in satisfaction. Map, he signed and moved to study it.

Agya tugged at his sleeve and held out both hands, making writing motions. He handed over the blank map hide and charcoal stick and left her to copy the map while he checked the rest of the chamber.

Hides and rugs covered the floor, and tapestries hid most of the walls. Along the west wall, there was a heavy, stiff skin covering a vast area. Oddly, the bottom edge was moving as if air currents from behind were at work. Very odd, since the chamber was rather stuffy. He shoved the hide to one side, sensitive fingers questing until he found a door. It wasn’t really verywell hidden, except by the hide. Once inside the tiny hidden chamber, he cast a spell, and the rack of firewood along the far wall lit up like a candle to his eyes.

Agya came up behind him. Malowan, aware by his last spell that no one was nearby, tugged at her boy-cut hair and murmured, “We are safeenough for now. The wood conceals something of value. Help me shift it.”

Agya merely nodded and knelt to begin shifting balks of firewood. The pile was nearly gone when Malowan’s fingers closed around severaltubes.

“Scroll cases,” he whispered.

She nodded, inclining her head again when he indicated she should guard both the doors while he checked the tubes for safety.

Eventually he chose two, shoved them into his pack, then carefully restacked the firewood. “These must be valuable,” he whispered. “Timefor us to hide or get back outside before the next guard change.”

Malowan waved her back into the room to watch and listen while he resettled the huge hide. “Be very quiet. There are wolves, remember,”he reminded her.

She nodded, her face pale, and led the way.

But before they had gone two paces, heavy footsteps echoed through the hall, and a deep bass voice rumbled in counterpart to at least three yipping wolves. Mal waited, holding his breath. The sounds passed by, and a door slammed, cutting off all noise.

Malowan gave a white-faced Agya thumbs up and went on. Shedrew a dagger and followed.

They retraced their steps and only once had to hide-Malowanunder a pile of sacks, boots, and other rubble on the floor of the cloakroom, while Agya buried herself under a fur cloak that almost reached the floor. Two giants came rumbling and cursing down from the tower, one clutching his head while another grumbled, seemingly cross at having his sleep interrupted for guard duty in full fog.

Malowan waited an extra three tens of breaths after they had left, then rolled from under the sacks and drew Agya toward the doors. He eased one open as quietly as possible and pulled her outside.

Somewhere high above the Steading, day had broken. Down here, the fog was merely a brighter shade of gray but no less thick. The sides of the road were barely visible as an occasional tuft of dead grass.

Agya retrieved her tools. Malowan gestured a reminder for utter silence. She nodded, wide-eyed, and there was only the faintest snip as the lock slid into place.

They set out as quickly as they could walk. In this much haze, they’d be invisible to anyone approaching, and they’d hear anyone longbefore they saw them.

A short distance down the road, Malowan drew the girl onto the scrubby turf and back the way they’d come. To his surprise, Nemis was stillwaiting in the tiny dell.

The mage smiled very briefly then led back to the cave.