Ynec showed us all how to catch fish with our bare hands. We were at the river basin where the cyclops had been fishing. All of us stood still in the waters and waited for a fish to come by and slap it out of the water. Yajaira had even waded in the water with us, although her polished hands had likely never gotten into muddy waters before. We got three fish but Ynec was by far the best.He was able to get three fish by himself.

We only had an hour left of sunlight and we had caught six fish.. It was enough to feed our troop but it was not nearly enough to offer up to the cyclops in exchange for our comrades.

“Would this be enough?” Ruglio asked.

Kaavi and I exchanged glances, Kaavi interjected and said, “I think we need it to weigh as much as them. If it doesn’t weigh as much as them at least… why would he trade with us?”

“True,” I said, “But we are running out of daylight.

Kaavi let out a breath, “We don’t think the fishes are the best idea, but Egen and I haven’t thought of a better one.”

Barth strummed his mandolin while we all toiled in the water, “I suppose,” Barth said, “I could attempt to play a song. Lure the cyclops out and you all use it as an opportunity to fight it.”

I saw as Barth cleared his throat like he was about to play a tune, “We’ve got a bard,” I said.

“Yes,” Yajaira said, “A rather good one at that. He comes from a line of bards.”

“Each one better than the last. And then there’s MEEEeeeEEE!” Barth sung the last word, his voice showing the wide range of notes he could hit.

“We agreed not to fight it but… maybe we could use that to lull the cyclops out of his teepee. Then we send him on a wild chase. When he’s far enough away, we sneak in and rescue the others!”

“That’s a great idea!” Kaavi said, “Then we won’t have to face the cyclops.”

“One problem,” I countered, looking at Barth “You’re the slowest runner. Or need I remind you that you were nearly caught at the camp?”

“I’ve a spell for this very occasion,” Barth said, “I can throw my voice and make it seem like it’s coming from different directions.

“Really?” I said, “I worry what would happen if you got caught, though.”

Huy raised his paw, “Can I help?”

“Kaavi?” I asked.

Kaavi nodded his head.

“Huy, you’re perfect for this.”

Huy nodded his head, “Thank you. I think so too.”

“Hey?” I said, I reached out my fist at him. He ducked and shrieked in terror. But when he saw that I wasn’t going to hit him. He looked at it suspiciously, “Knock’em.” I said.

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He precariously poked his fist out and bumped it against mine.

“Okay,” I said. “We all know our positions. Who wants to protect the duchess?” I asked.

“Oh no,” the duchess said, “I’m coming.”

“WHAT?!” I yelled, “That would put your life in danger! Why would you want to come?”

Yajaira shook her head, “Porta is like a sister to me. She and I grew up together. I’m going to make sure she survives, even if it kills me.”

I couldn’t help but garner some respect for her. Because Porta was the servant and Yajaira was the duchess, I assumed there was a clear pecking order. But it became apparent to me that even in this fucked up social order… there was love there.

“Who am I to get in the way of that?” I asked, “Fine. But stick close to us. We can’t add any more complications.”

Yajaira nodded her head, “I understand, Egen.”

“Okay,” I said, we know our roles, Let’s get to it!”

When we made it to the Cyclops’ hut, day started to turn to night. The sun bounced off the sand at the edge of the forest and washed the whole forest with orange and red. Barth had squirreled himself away somewhere in the forest and began to play his merry tune. He sang a joyous tune about how delicious he would taste cooked in butter and served with rosemary. Then we all waited. Barth was about 50 feet to the east of this man’s teepee. The music he was playing danced their way into the crevices of the teepee.

“He’s not coming out,” Tuf croaked.

“Wait,” Kaavi said, “He will. A cyclops probably hates music.”

We could see the glow of flames coming from inside. The cyclops likely started it because it was getting ready for dinner. The door was a stretched cow hide on a frame. The light from the fire showed the silhouette of the giant approaching the door. It crawled out and stood up. The cyclops turned to the direction of the music and, concerned, began walking further away from the teepee.

Ynec was the best sneak. He would lead the way, and made sure I followed each one of his footsteps exactly. We needed to keep the group small. It would be Ynec, Kaavi, the duchess, and me.

“Doesn’t seem right,” Tuf said before we left, “We’re paladins and we ain’t doing much paladining!”

“I know,” I said as I tried to calm him down, “But look, he’s a cyclops. What are we going to do?”

“I’d show him something,” Tuf said, “I’d ring his thick neck and bring him down like, Splat!” and Tuf balled his fist and punched his palm, “You all hold him down and I stab out that big eye, just like you said, Egen!”

“Let’s save that as a final option,” I told Tuf.

And thus, our tiny team split off and began their sneaking. We all headed toward the door, the cyclops’ cumbersome footsteps getting smaller and smaller. We all made it to the door. When we got there, it became clearer how tall this thing was. The door, itself, was slightly higher than us and he had to crawl down to get through it. Thinking about it, he was probably around nine feet. Maybe ten! It would take one whack of his mighty club and we’d be done for.

We unfastened the simple leather strap that held the door open and climbed inside. within the teepee, on the right side, there were Porta, Ghala, and Apep all tied up laying on the floor. They were stacked in a pile, “Whoof,” I thought “I know how much Porta hates to be laid on top of.”

None of them were gagged and when they saw us, their faces grew with concern.

“Hey!” I squeaked as I strutted toward them. They looked at me horrified, covered in soot and shaking, “We’re here to save you!” I said, “Let’s get you out of this rope.”

I strolled up to them, with Ynec who took out his bone knife.

“We’re going to get you all out of here,” I said. But Ynec didn’t follow me the whole way. When I turned, I saw him staring in a different direction.

“Hey!” I snapped at Ynec who looked at me, “What are you looking at?”

“Egen.” hissed Ghala.

“What?” I asked, “I’m saving you. What could you possibly have to say?”

He gestured his head across the teepee. When I turned around, through the fire was the face of a different cyclops, resting on the floor and its big pregnant belly pointing toward us. It’s big purple eye staring right at us.