Barth watched as the cyclops prowled through the forest, heading to the direction of the music. It sounded as if the source was hiding under the fronds of a small palm bush. The music stopped as the cyclops reached down and lifted the fronds. Only a rabbit scurried away. The cyclops stood back up, and Barth played his tune again, this time on top of a tree twenty-five feet to the right of palm. The cyclops headed toward the new source of sound.

Barth’s slender frame allowed him to hide under the lifted roots of a tree that had tilted during a rainstorm. Nestled in safety, he had a good enough vantage point watching the cyclops bumble from one location to the next. When the cyclops approached the treetop, it grabbed the branch and snapped it off the tree with one hand. Barth threw his voice to a different area, back the way the cyclops had just come. The cyclops checked the third source of music and found nothing. It became frustrated. The one-eyed monster became aware that a trick was being played. It let out some low growls, as if to warn whoever was messing with it to stop. Barth, however, persisted.

Barth chuckled as he realized his magic made the creature amble from location to location. His snide chortle entered the spell’s mechanism and echoed from atop a large olive tree. The cyclops let out a nastier growl than before, meant to intimidate. Then, the cyclops tilted its head back and took a sustained sniff of the night air. Barth kept playing, but he wondered. What the cyclops lacked in eyes… could it make up for with smell? Barth had an understanding that these brutes were closer to wild animals, it would stand to reason that these creatures would have the senses as sharp as wild animals. The cyclops took another sniff of the air, dropping to its knees and examining the forest floor. It crawled towards Barth. Barth’s smile faded. His song skipped a note but he quickly recovered. The bard looked around. Too buried in the roots, he unfortunately had only one way out. Forward. He would risk revealing himself if he were to crawl out at this moment. Barth continued to play his mandolin and sing a song of sharp wit that projected itself directly behind the monster, encouraging the monster to turn around and go in the opposite direction. The cyclops kept its nose low to the ground and continued skulking on all fours. With every foot of distance lost, Barth’s tempo sped up.

“I know.” The cyclop’s voice uttered in a low growl, “Do you want to know how I know? Because when I caught your scent, the music played in the opposite direction. And when I get closer-”

He leapt forward. Barth jumped. His mandolin played a discordant tune as Barth ended his playing. The cyclops smiled. His one eye glowed yellow in the darkness. He kept crawling. Sniffing the ground and crawling. Barth looked around, having nowhere to go without revealing himself. But hadn’t he already been revealed? Did the cyclops know where he was?

“Almost there.” The cyclops said.

Barth strummed his mandolin once again, searching through the annals of his mind for a spell that could get him out. The cyclops stopped crawling. It said, “you’re in this tree, aren’t you?”

Barth was staring at the cyclops’ feet standing in front of his roots. Barth’s voice quivered. Sweat began pouring down his body as his fight or flight kicked in. He buried himself further into the tree bottom desperate for that to provide some added protection. Barth stared at the feet of the cyclops as the cyclops growled, “Come out before I make you come out.”

“Don’t… move.” I told the kids.

“We’re tied up, Egen,” Porta whispered.

“Should be easy not to move then?” I stared up at the cyclops. It was looking right at me, but it stayed there, menacing, unmoving. Even a hungry strand of drool fell off it’s mouth onto the floor, “Why isn’t that thing attacking me?” I asked.

“A cyclops doesn’t have an eyelid,” Apep piped up, “It’s sleeping.”

I whispered to Apep, “You know about cylopes?”

“Yup,” Apep said, “I’m terrified of monsters so I read up on them in the bronze ring library.”

“So this is a female Cyclops?” I asked.

“Cyclops aren’t boys or girls. When a cyclops mates, either one can have the baby.”

“They’re hermaphroditic. I could have used you when we were making this plan,” I muttered, “Any weaknesses?”

“Just the obvious one. So, can you get me out of here?” Apep inquired.

“Come on.” I waved over Ynec and his sharp bone knife. He slinked over by the three captors and me and started to cut Porta’s rope.

Porta shifted her eyes between the knife and the sleeping cyclops. While the eerie eye of the pregnant cyclops was open, everything else seemed oddly dormant. The slumped shoulders. The slowly rising and falling chest. The drool. It took a bit before Porta finally spotted Yajaira.

“Yajaira.” Porta hissed. She looked over at me, “How could you?”

“She wanted to come,” I whispered.

“You should have made her stay.”

“She wanted to save you,” I said.

“What a dumb thing for her to think. Did you not think to dissuade her?”

“I did think that… but I thought it was really noble that she wanted to come get you.”

“Are you the biggest idiot Skorwind has ever produced?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Counterpoint, would you like to be eaten by the cyclops?”

Porta turned away from me. Her head now split between three directions. The cyclops, Ynec doing his work with the bone knife, and Yajaira. Ynec cut the last strand of rope and freed Porta. The sound of the rope ripping caused us to cringe as we looked at the cyclops. Shoulders still slumped. Chest still lifting up and down. Drool. Ynec worked on Apep’s rope next. Porta scurried as silently as she could to Yajaira. They both hugged at being reunited.

I clenched my fists. Sweat dripped down my face. Every noise we made, whether it be the rope tearing or the scrunching of our clothes as we hugged or the bead of sweat falling off our faces and landing on the floor could have meant our deaths. Then there was the matter of the waking Cyclops outside, and the fact that the music Barth had been playing had stopped. From our clandestined position, I could only hope Barth was faring better.

“No?” the cyclops asked, “Shall I drag you by force?”

Barth shook his head ‘no’ as he stared at the disheveled feet of the cyclops in front of him. They were as big as Barth’s whole arm and each of the creature’s three toes had a nasty buildup of green fluid.

“Fine. I’ll get you out myself.”

The cyclops moved. Barth almost let out a squeak but he grabbed his mouth, stopping any noise. The cyclops lumbered closer to the tree. Barth prayed to Ihy and then Dionysus. Each for the chance at survival. Then he wondered if praying to those two was a waste of time, because their specialty was more performances and parties and this occasion was neither.

Barth was two feet away from the giant’s disgusting feet, the bubbling green liquid taking on an acrid smell as the giant placed his hands on the trees. Suddenly, he could hear a monkey’s screech and a person leaping from the top of the tree.

“Get back here!” The cyclops said. Barth heard the snap of a branch strain as Huy jumped to a different tree. Huy had hid on top of the same tree as Barth in case the music plan fell short. The disgusting feet which offended Barth’s senses plodded away from Barth as the creature chased after Huy. Barth held his breath until the steps were far enough away, then let it out and crawled out of the roots to get a better look. The babion effortlessly leapt from tree top to tree top as the cyclops gave chase.

Barth made his way to the teepee to meet with the others.

Apep’s rope gave way. Apepe whispered his thank you to Ynec and made his way softly to the entrance with Kaavi, Yajaira, and Porta. Ghala was the last one to untie.

“Okay,” Ghala said, “Now do me!”

“Okay,” Ynec said, “Hold still.”

“Make it quick, mutt.”

“Hold on one second, Ynec,” I said.

“What?!” Ghala asked.

“Apologize,” I demanded.

“For what? Getting tied up wasn't my fault” Ghala said.

“To Ynec. And thank him for saving you.”

“Why?! The Chacali probably wouldn’t even be following us if it weren’t for him.”

“Everyone’s got a right to live, Ghala. Chacali young. Baboons. Half-elves,”

“Cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it,” Ghala said.

Little prick. We’re in the middle of the cyclops’ den and he’s still mouthing off. I shook my head and tapped Ynec on the shoulder.

“Fine. Then we’re leaving you here.”

I pulled Ynec away from Ghala. Ynec’s nervous expression fixated on Ghala behind us.

“I don’t believe you.” Ghala whispered.

“Believe it.” I said, keeping my voice low, but making sure Ghala heard me.

I practically dragged Ynec away. He was resisting, clearly intent on helping Ghala.

“Wait!” Ghala hissed. I turned around, “Okay…. If you don’t untie me I’m going to scream.”

My mouth dropped. This kid would rather die than not be an asshole to Ynec. We exchanged glances, sussing out if the other was bluffing. I knew whether or not I was bluffing. But was he bluffing? Why would he be? If he was doomed, might as well doom the rest of us. I quickly walked back to him.

“That’s what I though-” I grabbed some of the rope that that had been cut off and strung it around Ghala’s head, stuffing his mouth with it. I tied it tightly, gagging him.

“MMMMM!” Ghala tried to get his voice through the muffles of the rope, “MMMhmm!”

“Two short yells,” I said, “Two short yells and we’ll consider it an apology to Ynec and let you go. What do you have to say?”

Ghala shook his head, “Goddamn it,” I said.

“Please, Egen” Ynec begged, “We sh-should save child.”

I patted Ynec on the shoulder and said, “You’ve got a good heart, Ynec. Suppress that instinct.”

Once again, I dragged Ynec back to the entrance. The sleeping cyclops let out a snort and we all turned. I could feel Ghala’s terrified look bore a hole in my back as Ynec and I met back with Yajaira, Porta and Kaavi all waiting for me by the entrance.

I walked away as slowly as I could. Each step I took elongated, trying to give Ghala more and more of a chance and yet he kept trying to scream through the rope covering his mouth. Yajaira stared with concern and said, “you’re not actually going to leave him are you?”

I gave Yajaira the most calculated, tiniest shake of my head. No. I was bluffing. Ghala was a little turd but he did not deserve to get eaten by a cyclops for his backwards opinions.

I was nearing the end of my long walk. I was about to reach the others before Ghala finally let out two, short, “MM. MM.”

I turned back to him. He was giving me this pitiful look that said ‘Get me out of here.’ I slapped Ynec on the back and whispered at him to cut Ghala out of the trap. Thank goodness. I had no clue what I was going to do. Ynec sidled over and began cutting Ghala out of the trap.

Once Ghala was free, he spit the rope out of his mouth, “Stupid, Egen. Always thinks he’s better than everyone else,” Ghala whispered. He approached, sullen but not acting out of line.

“Okay,” I said, “Kaavi? Anything else we need before we go?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Kaavi said. His eyebrows were pointed angrily. He had not been paying attention to us since he walked in, instead fixating on the sleeping beast north of the teepee, “Let’s kill it.”

Huy sailed through the trees, the cyclops hot on his simian tail. Huy jumped from treetop to treetop. He did not yet determine a way to permanently escape the cyclops and was beginning to get worried.

Huy did not have darkvision. The orange glow had left the forest, leaving only darkness. Huy used the moon bouncing off the tree bark to determine where to go, but he leapt so fast it left his moves sloppy. His landings caused great crunching sounds, when normally they were silent.

On his latest leap, Huy landed on a branch thinner than he expected. He heard the crunch and attempted to adjust, snatching a branch as he fell. The cyclops leapt up and snatched at him, Huy curled his tail, narrowly avoiding being caught.

Huy knew to only keep running if he wanted to protect the troops. He suddenly saw no brightness at all. No moon reflecting on the branches of the trees, and yet he leapt anyway. into nothingness. The forest bordered the desert. The forest ended, and the desert started. Huy reached out for a tree that wasn't there and rolled on the sand, where the big bad cyclops was ready to catch him.

It easily picked up Huy by the arm, and stared at him.

“Where’s your instrument?”

Huy did not answer, so the cyclops shook him, “Where’s your mandolin?!”

“I left it!” Huy’s tinny monkey voice spoke.

“That’s not your voice. You didn’t sound…”

The cyclops’ pupil dilated with realization. They swung their head back, opened opened their maw and let out a guttural howl that pierced the night like a lightning strike, alerting their sleeping mate of the intruders.