Chapter 24: The Gamble

  Corin walked up to the ten solitary wagons that had been set apart. At the end of the line, he could see his wife standing outside a wagon that seemed like all the others.

  Livia turned to greet her husband. Corin had not seen or spoken to her since the previous night. He was not sure what her current temperament was.

  “Hey there, handsome,” She leaned in and planted a kiss on him. Once done, she immediately turned to the wagon.

  I guess she is not angry.

  “That will have to do, Simeon,” Livia shouted at the wagon.

  From inside the wagon, Simeon appeared

  and eyed Corin.

  “There he is. I take it you had a good night of rest?”

  Corin had been unable to fall asleep. His thoughts swirled with the countless ways in which their plan could go wrong.

  “As good as I could get.”

  “Good, because you'll need to pay attention now,” Simeon said.

  Corin waited to hear what Simeon would say.

  “Not there you. Come in!”

  Once in the wagon, Simeon walked Corin through the various mechanisms that the trap used.

  “See this string here?” Simeon asked as he grabbed a string tied to the door.

  “Once everything is in place, you need to grab this string and attach it here.” He pointed to a small hook in the center of the wagon.

  Corin went to touch the hook, and Simeon quickly slapped his hand away.

  “Boy, you'll kill us all!” Simeon quickly shouted at Corin.

  “Sorry, sorry!” Corin said as he rubbed his hand.

  “Do not touch this hook!” Simeon stated. “Only arm the trap once the wagon has come to a complete stop!”

  Corin nodded.

  “Repeat it!” Simeon ordered.

  “I will not touch the hook until the wagon has come to a complete halt.”

  Simeon nodded. “Good, good,” he said and looked around.

  “So what exactly will happen when it goes off?”

  “Oh, it is set to be quite a glorious explosion,” Simeon said. “It will be heard quite a distance. There is no furtive alive that would survive the immediate impact.”

  “Maybe Baltro won't be too busy afterward,” Corin replied.

  “I hate to say it, but you'll be lucky to get one of them with this trap. You will need to be prepared for what is to come. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” Corin said, trying to brush off Simeon.

  “Part of the reason I agreed with your suggestion is because I have seen firsthand how well you wield that blade. You really have learned a lot from your practice with Nanaua, and will do better than I could hope to if a fight were to break out. Not even Cyril was as adept as you are now,” Simeon said.

  “Thanks, Simeon. I—” Corin began, taken aback.

  “But if a fight does break out, you must run. You may be skilled, but the situation does not favor you,” Simeon said.

  “I know,” Corin said.

  “Now, go. I'm going to finish something. I may be done giving you a piece of my mind, but it's Livia's turn.”

  Corin went outside where he found his wife leaning against the wagon, teetering between the edge of wakefulness and sleep.

  “Livia,” Corin said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

  She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him.

  “There’s my husband who keeps throwing himself in the middle of suicide missions!” Livia said. “Am I really that bad of a wife?”

  Corin laughed uneasily at Livia's joke. He could tell that despite the joke she was not very pleased.

  “I'm sorry. I know how it seems, but—” Corin began.

  “It's fine. I spoke to Simeon, and he calmed me down during the night. That's why I didn't smother you in your sleep,” she added with a sly grin.

  “I think this really is our best chance,” Corin said.

  “You think I don't know that? You think that if you came up with some idea that would end up with all of us dead, I wouldn't say anything?”

  “Well, no,” Corin replied. “I know you would say something.”

  “That's right. That's how you're still alive. I mean, do you remember Dendru?” Livia asked with a smirk.

  “Yes, I remember Dendru,” Corin said under his breath.

  You only bring that up along with Palaza all the time.

  “And who could forget Palaza?” Livia said.

  “Yes, I remember that too,” Corin said.

  She elbowed him playfully and grabbed her husband's hand. She looked deep into his eyes.

  “But the reason why I'm calm is not only because Simeon spoke to me but because I trust you. I know you better than you do, and if I'm sure of something, it's that I'll be seeing you soon, with no murderous hunters one step behind us.”

  Livia leaned in and kissed her husband. The two warmly embraced each other.

  “We will begin our departure shortly,” Ciba announced in the middle of camp.

  The couple held onto each other for one more moment, then Livia let go.

  “Go on then. Show them how furtives from Trinixo fight best,” Livia said.

  “And how is that?” Corin asked as he looked at his wife.

  “Dirty,” she said as she winked at him.

  ***

  Corin could not help himself. As they neared the trap location, Corin kept staring at the odd formation in the distance.

  “This Giant will not mind us leaving a wagon in its territory?” Nanaua asked as she too continually looked eastward toward the same rolling hills.

  They were now as close as they would get to the Giant.

  “If Baltro had any feeling toward us besides disinterest we would not be having this conversation,” Ciba replied calmly.

  Around him, Corin saw a very distinct landscape. Various trees were on their sided as if a large hammer hit them over. Some were uprooted, and some trees were split in half. It was through this landscape of destruction that Corin could see the jagged hills that rolled strangely in the distance. If Corin had not known any better, he would have noticed their peculiarity in this strange environment but nothing more. But he did know better.

  The hills he looked upon were the giant Baltro, who slumbered as the furtives traversed the destroyed terrain it left behind. Corin was not even sure what part of the giant he was looking at. From the carvings the forest elves had made, Corin knew that Baltro had some sort of humanoid shape, but nothing he looked at in the mountains hinted at a being existing underneath.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Do you think this would deter the Zifors?” Corin asked Nanaua. “Do you think Throk will desist in his search?”

  “Whether he senses danger or not, Throk will not relent in his pursuit,” Nanaua replied. “He knows he is close to the Onsiel. He knows this is his only chance at redemption, and failure for him means death.”

  “We shall stop here,” Ciba said, glancing at Corin. “It is time.”

  There was nothing else that he needed to say.

  Geta, who drove the rigged wagon, walked away while Corin approached. Nanaua looked at Corin and nodded. He

  waited by the rigged wagon as the decoy caravan continued on. Once they were well out of eyesight, Corin finally went into the wagon.

  Once inside, he looked over the entire contraption that Simeon had rigged. He wanted to be sure everything was where it should be.

  Corin inspected it and saw it exactly as Simeon had presented it to him earlier in the day.

  Only one thing to do now.

  Corin grabbed the piece of thread that hung near the door. He slowly guided it to the hook that connected to the arming lever. Gently, he looped it around the hook and let it fall. The thread now hung in the air.

  This is the most important part.

  Corin had to leave the wagon without setting off the trap. There was not a lot of leeway given to the string when opening the wagon, so Corin had to be extra careful when opening the door.

  Slowly, he snaked his way out of the interior of the wagon. With the same care that he had taken to get into the wagon, he got out of it.

  Upon setting his foot on the ground, it touched a muddy puddle, and Corin was soon falling backward.

  His back hit the ground hard, and all the air inside him came out in a violent exhalation. Corin panicked as he looked at the wagon, but nothing happened.

  “Phew,” Corin breathed a sigh of relief. Still on his back and on the ground, he backed away from the wagon before getting up. Once he did, he ran toward the rest of the decoy caravan.

  Corin looked east toward the slumbering giant. The warm rays of the late day sun bathed the hills. Soon it would be night. Soon the trap would be sprung.

  Soon the giant would awaken.

  ***

  The group waited in silence. They did not want to attract any unwanted attention before the trap went off.

  In the distance, a bright light shone for the briefest of instances. The forest once again became dark, only lit by the moonlight.

  “Was that it? Did the trap work?” Nanaua asked as she looked around.

  Corin too looked around, unsure of whether or not the trap had been activated.

  “I don't know. I—” Ciba began replying but did not need to finish.

  Soon they heard the loud boom of the explosion that had been set off.

  “Simeon really did it,” Corin whispered.

  “If I can hope for one thing it’s that Throk was the one who was blown to pieces,” Nanaua whispered.

  “You think that’s likely?” Corin asked, the hope within him rising.

  Maybe we got all of them.

  “No,” Nanaua replied. “He’s too shrewd, but hopefully we got several of them.”

  The ground shook. Then they heard a loud, angry, thundering growl. Under the moonlight, Corin could see the hill in the far distance stir. No longer was it an out-of-place mountain in the middle of the forest. Now Corin saw a large towering figure that grew in size as it righted itself up.

  It took several moments for the giant to fully stand, but once it did the imposing figure could be seen for leagues at a distance.

  “By Jokasta…” Corin whispered.

  “I have never seen such a large creature,” Nanaua uttered.

  The giant had a humanoid figure, but with only the moonlight Corin could not tell anything else about it. He

  raised both arms above its head and brought them down with great fury on the spot where the wagon had been.

  “We need to leave now!” Ciba shouted.

  They dashed like mad away from the rampaging giant.

  Corin took one step, and the ground beneath him shook with such intensity that it threw him onto his back.

  Above him, Corin saw trees around him shaking violently. The one right next to him snapped in the center. He saw where it was about to land, right on top of him.

  He hurried up and jumped out of the way.

  CRASH!

  The tree cracked open upon hitting the ground, and the fragment hit Corin’s legs.

  “Argh!” Corin shouted pain shooting up his leg. He looked and saw blood. He wiped away at it and realized it was a surface cut.

  “Corin!” Nanaua called.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “It’s not serious!” He shouted as he tried to get back up.

  Something grabbed him from the back of his neck and righted him up.

  He looked up and saw Nanaua staring at him.

  “I told Livia I would bring you back alive!” Nanaua shouted. “I intend to keep that promise!”

  Corin nodded and continued running. He could see light ahead of him. It was Ciba with the lone piece of light fruit they had brought with them.

  “We need to hurry and reach the forest elves!” Nanaua shouted.

  “AAARGGHH!”

  Another loud shout and the ground shook again. This time Nanaua held onto Corin, and the two of them withstood the quakes.

  “Thanks!” Corin said once the shaking lessened.

  They continued running toward the light

  and reached Ciba, who was moving toward the rest of the decoy caravan.

  “In all the centuries of Baltro's reign over this domain, I have never seen such anger from the giant!” Ciba said.

  The trio continued at a fast pace toward the rest of the decoy caravan. The landscape shifted with every step they took, the trees shattering and falling all around them.

  Another quake shook the ground interrupting Corin. “Is it possible to get any information from the trees near the explosion?”

  “RAAARRRGH!”

  Baltro screamed once more, and another strong quake followed.

  “No, the trees are under too much duress! No information is forthcoming from them,” Ciba replied.

  “Was there anything you saw before they set off the trap?” Corin asked.

  “The trees around this area are much too damaged. The information we can gather is not as good as in other places. The last we saw, there were eight of them headed toward the wagon we left behind,” Ciba replied.

  “Eight?” Corin replied, confused.

  “We are not alone!” Nanaua shouted. She held onto her pike with both hands.

  “What?” Corin asked. He looked around, but there was too much chaos to make sense of what was happening.

  A sickening sound came, of metal piercing through flesh. Corin looked over to the source. He saw a long blade pierce straight through Ciba.

  “Agh! —” Ciba groaned as he was lifted high. He was shortly thereafter tossed aside.

  Behind him was a hooded figure. A Kishtro.

  “Ciba!” Corin yelled as he ran, but he was held back. Nanaua gripped Corin tightly by his arm.

  “Using a giant against your brethren? That is not something you could have conceived of yourself, Nanaua.” The voice behind the hood spoke. “Was it this vulgros who came up with the idea?” The figure pointed its blade straight at Corin.

  “Noro,” Nanaua replied.

  The ground continued shaking under them. Corin would have fallen had Nanaua not held him.

  “I would have never thought you would stoop to something so cowardly,” Noro said to Nanaua while still pointing her blade at Corin.

  “Cowardly? You murdered this furtive in cold blood! These forest elves have no means of defending themselves, yet you strike from the shadows?” Nanaua replied.

  Noro did not say anything.

  “If you think I am a coward, then why not test your blade against mine?” Nanaua said as she let go of Corin and gripped her pike.

  “AAARGH!”

  Another strong quake ensued.

  Corin lost his footing. He looked down as he tried to stabilize himself.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement.

  It was Noro. Despite the shaking of the ground, Noro moved through the chaos comfortably. Within five steps, her blade was close enough that Corin could see the strange markings on it.

  Corin thought that Noro was to attack Nanaua, but Noro moved past Nanaua. She aimed right at him.

  Corin reached for his blade, but he would not be quick enough. As he pulled it out, Noro’s blade was almost at his head.

  Nanaua yelled as she threw herself at Noro

  , whose blade missed Corin's head by a razor thin margin.

  Nanaua and Noro tumbled and struggled on the ground. Corin struggled to see what occurred in the dim lighting.

  What little he could see was of Nanaua on top of Noro. She no longer had her pike in her hands, but that did not deter her from attacking. She pummeled Noro, who did everything she could to cover her head from Nanaua's barrage.

  Corin looked around and saw Nanaua's pike. It was far from Nanaua and Noro. He grabbed it. The weight of the pike was immense. The weapon that Nanaua regularly wielded with one hand was a struggle for Corin to hold properly with both of his hands.

  “Nanaua, your weapon!” Corin shouted as he neared her.

  Before Corin could give her the weapon, he saw a deft movement from Noro. In one hand, a metallic glint shone.

  “She has a blade!” Corin shouted.

  Nanaua saw it at the last moment. Noro aimed at Nanaua's chest, but Nanaua moved. The dagger dug itself deep into her belly.

  Nanaua yelled in pain.

  Noro pushed Nanaua off of her and pulled the dagger out of Nanaua.

  As she got up, Corin swung at her with Nanaua's pike. It was nowhere near the deadly attack that Nanaua could muster. Corin simply did not have the strength to wield the weapon. Noro effortlessly moved out of the oncoming swing and lunged at Corin with her dagger.

  As Noro lunged, Corin did something he had seen Nanaua do many times. He may not have the strength to wield the head of the pike, but the pole could still be a viable weapon. With the blunt end of the handle, he hit the incoming Noro straight in the face.

  The hit sent Noro recoiling. Before Noro composed herself, Corin dropped the pike and picked up his blade.

  As Noro regained her balance, Corin lunged. He thrust at her. Noro moved, but Corin still grazed her. He cut her bicep, and Noro yelled in pain. Now was her chance to attack.

  Corin backed away, but Noro swung at his neck. Corin was able to parry the attack, but the impact sent a wave of pain down his arm.

  Not as strong as Nanaua but still so much stronger than me!

  “You are feisty, my tiny friend,” Noro said to Corin. He could see her features now. Her resemblance to Nanaua was uncanny. She had the same red scales as Nanaua, and her eyes were dark like hers. The only difference Corin could see was in the finer shape of Noro’s face. But the main difference was in her size, Nanaua was larger than Noro.

  Noro continued the onslaught, with Corin barely able to hold up.

  She swung down her blade with one arm at Corin, who struggled to hold back the attack with both arms.

  “Tiny one, you are weak!” she shouted and kicked him in the stomach.

  He was sent back, his blade flying out. The ground around him shook, and he struggled to get up, but before he was able to make sense of what was happening, he was raised from the ground.

  He was face-to-face again with Noro. Her eyes showed something feral in them. She no longer had a blade in her hands.

  “I'm going to enjoy this!” she hissed.

  Noro clenched her fist. Corin reacted by pulling out his pistol, but Noro saw it and knocked it out of his hand.

  She hit him square in his stomach, doubling him over. Corin reacted by balling up his fists. He swung at Noro, but before his strike landed, Noro grabbed his fist

  and punched him in the face. The blow knocked him back, but Noro grabbed him and gripped him by his throat. She effortlessly raised him off the ground with one hand.

  Corin felt the hand tighten around his neck.

  “So much fun, small one!” Noro said with a smile on her face. “But the fun stops now!”

  BANG!

  Instantly, the grip around Corin's neck loosened.

  In front of him, Noro fell to the ground. She groaned in pain as she squirmed on the ground.

  Corin turned to look. Nanaua was clutching her stomach, as she held onto the smoking pistol. Hunched over, Nanaua walked towards Noro, threw the pistol in Corin’s lap, raised Noro’s blade, and plunged it right into her foe's head.

  “Goodbye, cousin,” Nanaua said.

  The giant shouted once more, and the ground shook.

  Corin put away his pistol and blade. He tried as best he could to reach Ciba. Once he reached him, he looked into his face.

  “Ciba, talk to me. Please tell me you are fine,” Corin begged.

  The lifeless forest elf’s eyes stared into the sky.

  Nanaua slowly came up to him.

  “We must hurry, Corin.”

  “But Ciba…”

  “He is no longer with the living. Unless you want to join him, we need to go!” Nanaua said.

  “I’m sorry, Ciba.” Corin moaned as he got up, holding onto the light fruit.

  Nanaua grabbed hold of Corin, and they went to find the other forest elves.

  ***

  Corin and Nanaua followed the guidance they had received to reach the rest of the decoy caravan. The forest elves had all headed south to put as much distance between them and the giant as possible, and they would wait for Ciba, Corin, and Nanaua after the trap was activated.

  As Corin and Nanaua continued, the quakes came regularly. The duo struggled to stay on their own two feet as they both had significant injuries.

  Nanaua kept clutching her stomach.

  “Let me tend to your wounds,” Corin said.

  “No, first we find the forest elves,” Nanaua said.

  “But your wound, I need—“ Corin began but was interrupted.

  “You heard Ciba, did you not? There were only eight of the Zifors at the site of the trap. Who knows where the other three are? If any of them finds us, our death is certain! We need our allies!”

  She coughed violently and fell onto one leg. Corin tried to help her stand. She was far heavier than any other furtive Corin had ever tried to lift.

  “Fine, but if I can’t tend to your wounds now, then I will when we reach the forest elves,” Corin said as he continued the slow march with Nanaua.

  The two of them struggled for a long time to move even the slightest of distances. Many trees had fallen, the ground continued shaking, and there was barely any light. Eventually Nanaua and Corin found the other forest elves.

  Geta greeted them.

  As soon as Corin saw Geta, he collapsed. He was beyond exhausted from having helped Nanaua walk all this way.

  “Ciba, he’s—” Corin began.

  “We know,” Geta replied. He had the same cold tone that Ciba would speak in.

  “Come, you will ride in a wagon.” He urged Corin and Nanaua as he led them over.

  The duo entered the wagon, and the caravan took off.

  Inside, Corin tended to Nanaua’s wound. She had stuffed the gaping wound with a piece of her clothing to stem the bleeding. She had lost a significant amount of blood and seemed to be on the verge of losing consciousness.

  “This is all my fault,” Corin said as he looked at the wound. He felt defeated. Even with his plan executing as close to perfection as possible, Ciba had died, Corin had been wounded, and Nanaua was at death’s door. She wouldn’t be in this state had she not saved his life twice.

  “Corin,” Nanaua weakly said.

  “What?” he replied with a lump in his throat.

  “Tend to my wounds first,” Nanaua muttered. “Feel sorry later.”

  Corin grabbed Livia’s medicine kit and cleared his mind of any other concerns. His main focus was tending to Nanaua.

  He took off the bloody rag she had put in her wounds.

  “Ach,” Nanaua whimpered.

  “This is going to hurt,” Corin said.

  He poured a salve on Nanaua’s wound. She

  yelled louder this time.

  That is better than no reaction.

  Corin cleaned the wound and took out any debris inside. Nanaua continued grunting throughout Corin’s treatment. He grabbed a needle and a piece of thread. He did his best at closing the wound, but it was a poor job compared to what Livia could do. If only he had been more careful.

  She’s not here, and Nanaua needs you now!

  Corin focused. He finished taking care of the wound and dressed it.

  “Is it done?” Nanaua asked.

  “Yes,” Corin said.

  “You feel bad because of Ciba,” Nanaua said weakly and then coughed. “Imagine if we had to fight five other opponents as strong as Noro at once.”

  “But Ciba he trusted in my plan, and he died,” Corin said.

  “The elf was no fool. He knew what the risk was, yet he agreed to help. You would do well to remember that,” Nanaua added. “Honor his sacrifice.”

  Corin hung his head.

  “Do not feel shame. You fought valiantly against a foe far stronger than you,” Nanaua said.

  “But I feel like—”

  “Corin, I want you to know I am proud to fight by your side. Now, I must rest,” Nanaua replied.

  It did not take long for Corin to hear the rhythmic breathing of sleep. As he sat in the wagon, a small bump reminded him of his own injuries. He had been kicked in the stomach, punched in the face, nearly choked to the death, and more. He touched his ribs to see if there was anything broken.

  “Ugh!” Corin yelped.

  There was a lot of pain, but nothing seemed to be broken.

  Corin touched his face. The left side felt swollen. He felt the inside of his mouth and discovered that one of his teeth had been partially chipped.

  I must seem like quite the looker.

  Corin drank a tonic that Livia had made him, a mix of herbs that was supposed to help injuries heal faster. Whether it was effective or not, he didn't know, but a clear effect from the tonic was the drowsiness it instilled on its drinker.

  As Corin's eyes shut, he could only think of one thing. Ciba's lifeless eyes.

  I'm sorry. I will be better in the future.