Tiggy sat with Hal’s friends at lunch the next day. Their table was the right size for the boys, so naturally it was too small for Tiggy. She had to sit on a mat on the floor so she could eat off the table. She smiled around at Hal’s friends. “Hey guys, how’re you?”

“Nice lunch, Tiggy,” said Roger, his eyes flickering from her plate, to Hal and then to her.

Tiggy’s lunch was a plate of raw offal. “Yeah, I c’n only eat raw meat,” said Tiggy.

The other boys had been silent and were staring at Tiggy, but now they looked at each other.

“Isn’t she awesome?” said Hal. He sounded a little stern.

“Absolutely!” said Roger. “We all think so,” he added hastily.

“So, Tiggy, you normally hang out with the uh… Creatures and Caverns crowd,” said Baz.

“Yeah, we play a game where ’m Griena the warrior,” said Tiggy.

“Was one of them your old boyfriend?” said Baz. “Isn’t that the reason they bring a girl into their game?”

“Noo…” said Tiggy. “Elliot was sorry for me cos no one would play games with me. Cos he’s kind.”

“There you go, Baz,” said Hal.

“Tiggy doesn’t have to sit at the nerd table anymore,” said Baz.

“Hey, don’t call them that,” said Tiggy frowning.

“Yeah, Baz. Don’t be a muttonhead,” said Hal.

00O00

Meanwhile, Edd was making his own observations to Elliot.

“See that?” he pointed at Tiggy sitting awkwardly on the floor beside Hal’s table. “That giantess thinks she’s too good for us.”

“No, she doesn’t,” said Elliot tersely.

“Aw, it must be sweet to live in your little pastel coloured dreamworld,” said Edd, poking Elliot in the side. “Get a grip. When she was a loner, she was all too keen to latch onto you. Now she’s seen someone better. I bet he’s beguiled by her massive boobs so much he doesn’t mind her green skin. She’s forgotten about the losers like us.”

“Oh, shut up,” said Elliot. Elliot knew Tiggy was a good person. He wished he had asked her the question on his mind when he had had the chance. But how would she have answered?

00O00

At the Cheerleaders table, Kimmy was looking with narrowed eyes at Hal and Tiggy. “Your sister’s shaking up the social hierarchy,” she observed. “She’s really shown her haters.”

“She’s a very special girl,” said Verena, gazing in Tiggy’s direction and smiling fondly.

“She really broke the mould,” said Kimmy.

“It’s not right,” muttered Amber.

Verena glared at her. “What do you mean?”

“N-nothing,” said Amber.

00O00

After lunch, Tiggy and Hal slipped into the caretaker’s utility storeroom for some privacy. There was barely enough room for them both. Hal knelt on Tiggy’s lap and put his arms around her as best he could as Hal kissed her green nose and cheeks and then kissed her on the mouth. She did taste of offal, which was gross, but if a girl is a true sweetheart, you put up with stuff like that. He ran his fingers through her long red hair and she made a low, contented sound as he rubbed the back of her neck. Her giant breasts pushed into him. This was exciting. She was magnificently endowed. If she had a low-cut dress, she would turn heads even more than she did now.

“You’ll steal the show at the SpooksEve Ball,” murmured Hal.

Tiggy gazed at him with soft brown eyes. “Sorry, but I’ve promised my friend Jax that we c’n go storytelling on SpooksEve.”

“Can’t you cancel?”

“We have to talk with ‘m first,” said Tiggy. “We go storytelling ev’ry SpooksEve.”

“You think your Mum and Dad would approve you going out storytelling with that awful, crazy Giant Slayer on the loose?” said Hal.

Tiggy looked uncomfortable. “I gotta ask Mum ‘n Dad too.”

“You’re the apple of your father’s eye,” said Hal, remembering Mr Harris and his warning that Hal should treat Tiggy right. “I bet he doesn’t approve of you doing anything remotely dangerous.”

“Yeah, Dad is so kind,” said Tiggy happily. “‘M too big for his lap, but never too big for his heart.”

00O00

The Carnival had arrived in Crystal Valley. Sully Heliot approached it with a sense of purpose. Monsters and mutants, contemptible abominations unfit for polite society all of them, found refuge here. There were also secrets to be discovered.

The sound of music and shouting of the rabble at the fair could be heard a mile away. Sully made his way to the array of tents in the fields on the outskirts of Crystal Valley, near the marshy land in the fork of the river.

He knew he had business at the sideshow, but there was a distraction in the form of a sparring ring with an excited crowd around it.

“Place yer bets,” said an unshaven man in gaudy clothing. He shook a money bag. “Odds three ter one against the champion.”

Sully wondered if it was safe to rob the imbecile in broad daylight. Safe or not, he would try it.

“Hand over your bag!” he demanded, and punched the bookie in the head.

“Oh no…” Groaned the bookie.

A knife sprouted from the bag and Sully jumped back.

“So sorry,” said the bookie. “It gets all pointy if yer try an’ rob me.”

Sully ducked out of the way of the blade, realising with his flawless intuition that this obstacle just happened to be insurmountable.

There was a burly old ruffian standing beside the ring and yelling about the upcoming fight.

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“Who dares challenge Drezar the Dreadful, foul flesh eater?”

At that moment, a huge and hideous ogress shuffled out of the tent nearby. She was ten feet tall with bright green skin and red hair. Her forehead was larger in proportion to the rest of her than a human’s. She glared sullenly around her.

Sully could prove his mettle in combat. In his quests, he had stolen various powerups that boosted his strength discretely, including an armband of combat skill and a belt of strength. But best of all was a gadget that had belonged to the warlock Sully had killed on Firestorm Isle. A bracelet with a carved face that would give advice during combat. The bracelet was remarkably prescient.

“I dare!” he declared striding forward. “I take the challenge.”

“Very well,” said the ruffian. “In the red corner, Drezar the Dreadful. In the blue corner… What’s your name, stranger?”

“Just get on with it,” said Sully.

“Very well, in the blue corner, we have the mysterious challenger.”

“Another liddle man,” said the ogress. “I don’ wanna hurt ‘im.”

“Shut up and pound him, or you get no supper,” said the ruffian.

“Come on, you monstrous filth,” said Sully, spitting on the ground between them.

The crowd began to speculate on Sully’s merits.

“He’s got mean eyes.”

“Looks like a maniac to me.”

“Can he beat an ogress?”

Drezar gave a sigh and reached for Sully, probably trying to grasp him in her long green hands. “Jus surrender,” she urged.

With lightning quick reflexes, enhanced by the armband, Sully dodged and struck the ogress’ knee with strength enhanced by the belt.

“Coming at you with her other foot,” squeaked the carved bracelet on Sully’s wrist.

Sully dodged.

“Coming at you with a blow of medium strength,” squeaked the bracelet.

Sully knew to avoid that as well.

The crowd jeered at the strange spectacle unfolding before them.

“Gettin’ too old fer this,” said Drezar panting.

Finally, Sully saw an opening. At the bracelet’s prompting, he leapt up and poked the ogress in the eye, causing her to roar in pain and sit down.

“I win – as always!” said Sully. “Where’s my prize?”

“Here. Ten copper pieces,” said the ruffian sullenly, chucking a tiny bag at Sully.

“Is that all?” said Sully.

“No,” said the ruffian. “Not quite all. You’re finished here, Drezar. You’ve cost me for the last time. Go. Now you’ve no home! I doubt anyone will take you in.”

Drezar looked at the ground.

Sully smirked. It gratified him to see the beast discomforted. “Silence!” He yelled at the crowd. “Stop jabbering, you rabble! I have an announcement. The monsters are not just confined to this carnival. There is another wretched specimen in the district – the bastard offspring of Blarsh the ogre…”

At that, Drezar, looked up again and stared as though she were dumbfounded.

“Who cares?” jeered the crowd.

“So what?” said a lady with a penetrating voice. “Why’d we wanna know about another ogre?”

Sully had hoped that the mob might be willing to turn on Antigone Harris, the ogre-girl, if they knew of her existence.

“Blarsh the ogre and a slatternly woman – a former adventurer by the name of Nadine Harris – they produced a monstrous progeny… The mother is Nadine Harris, at Crystal Hall Chateau. Have you got that? She’s a disgrace to humanity.”

The crowd jeered. “Who cares?”

“Go away!”

“That’s enough of your nonsense. Take your money and go,” said the ruffian.

Sully clenched his fists and stomped off angrily. Drezar the ogre could wait to taste his blade. She was not that important. Antigone was, since she was living proof that humanity could be cross bred with giant kind. This certainly could not be permitted. If it meant using sorcery to stop her, then so be it. Sully was no mage, but he knew where to find a source of magical weaponry. He made his way towards the sideshow.

The star attraction of the sideshow was a cage painted in shocking purple, and inside there was a grotesque creature, that looked like it was made of shiny green clay. It had a face like a clay mask fashioned to resemble the visage of a young girl. Instead of hair, long, snaking tentacles sprouted from its head. It was wrapped in a crude dress made from sack cloth, but it had an unmistakably female figure, with a very large chest and rear. An unnatural creature. A product of sorcery.

“Magic…” gabbled the bracelet at Sully’s wrist in its tiny voice. “She was not born. She was created. Watch out… she can sting.”

There was a small crowd around the cage. The creature was speaking in what was unmistakably a girl’s voice, though one that sounded quite low pitched.

“Hey, you slack jawed yokels,” it said, its tone querulous and complaining. “I just want to die, because I’m a trapped in this body moulded out of clay to look like a teenage girl, minus this redunculous bedonkadonk…” the creature slapped its huge rear end. “This is caused by a magically augmented uterine function.” It slapped its rear again and glared around at all the spectators with overlarge dark eyes. “You lot are perverts. Yeah. I noticed.”

Sully gave a twisted smile. “It is a shame that you should be caged just for our entertainment. I would like to remedy that.”

The creature looked askance at him. “I demand to be called ‘the Flayer’ and referred to as ‘they.’ Are you serious?”

“I will prove my sincerity to you, Flayer,” said Sully. He took out a long thin knife and struck the lock of the cage.

“Hey!” protested a man nearby.

Sully waved the knife at him in a threatening fashion and he thought better of protesting.

“You can’t work any faster?” said the Flayer sardonically as Sully struggled with the lock.

“You should be grateful I waste my strength in order to free you,” said Sully.

“I’m rude to people. Get over it,” said the Flayer. “Get me out of this cage.”

The lock burst open.

“Now you are free to go to the swamp,” said Sully, as the Flayer stalked out.

“Yes, I’m free. You hear that peasants?” The Flayer flashed a grin around at the crowd. “Don’t try and hurt me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

The onlookers scattered and Sully followed the Flayer away from the tents and hubbub of the fair and into the swamp. Here, the ground was spongy underfoot. The muck and filth of the swamp was covered in blue-green algae. Nearby, a pool of muck bubbled and steamed.

“Magic here…” muttered the bracelet at Sully’s wrist.

Sully drew his sharpened sword that was twice as deadly as the standard adventurer’s blade, and pointed it at the Flayer. “You’re a foul creature,” he declared. “Now you will die by my blade.”

The Flayer rounded on him, its stinging tentacles whipping around. “Are you kidding me?” it demanded, curling its lip. “You want to kill me…?” It gave a laugh and then a strangled sob.

Sully lunged forward with his blade.

“She’ll try and sting you for all she’s worth,” cautioned the bracelet.

Sully took a defensive stance and the Flayer charged at him, shaking its head so that its stings flailed in all directions.

“You liar! You psycho!” it screamed.

“She tells it like it is,” muttered the bracelet.

“Do not think I will hesitate to grind you into sawdust,” said Sully. Though he doubted he would. The bracelet was too useful a gadget for that.

Sully sidestepped the Flayer and most of its stinging tendrils missed him, but one did catch him on the arm and raised a stinging welt.

Then Sully saw an opening and stabbed the monster through the eye and laughed as it gave a burbling cry and oozed green ichor. He kicked it towards the bubbling pool and with a splash, it sank beneath the surface.

The Flayer was dead and in the depths of the pool, its magical life force was bleeding out. The pool began to bubble more furiously as the magic from the Flayer’s carcass mingled with the quagmire itself and animated the fetid earth. A new shape reared out of the bog, a hideous mass of greenish brown sludge…

“A new creature emerges. It will be susceptible to suggestion for its first few moments,” burbled the little voice of the bracelet.

The monster oozed out of the bog. A golem of clay. It opened its gaping maw and exhaled. A stench like brimstone filled the air.

Sully barked orders. “Go to Crystal Valley High. Lay waste to it if you have to, I care not. The brats in that place are neither here nor there. Neither are the staff. But bring me the head of the ogre-girl!”

00O00

Kojo joined Crystal Valley High that day as an Asteroball coach. Atticus pointed out Tiggy to her, although the girl stood out so much, it was hardly necessary.

“She looks nice and beautiful,” Kojo commented. “I wonder, is Sully right when he says, ‘she’s chaotic evil!’ Still, we will see.”

Kojo was going to judge Tiggy’s character? He would find out that she was nothing like Death the giant.

Kojo pointed at the Asteroball pitch. “I’m going to branch here.”

That meant they were going to part ways and Kojo was going off to coach the team.

00O00

The Asteroball team had a new coach.

“From today onward going, I will be training you,” Kojo informed the team.

Tiggy sat on the large, steel bench nearby the pitch. She was there to lend Hal and Verena moral support as they practiced their game and their cheerleading routine respectively.

Elliot came up to the pitch.

“Clear off! You can’t play Asteroball!” jeered Baz.

“Stop that! Everyone has his own strengths,” said Kojo. “I play ball for pleasure and I am great. But I can’t swim. I daresay this boy has his own strengths, even if he can’t play Asteroball.”

Tiggy could see Elliot looked upset.

“You OK?” she asked.

“I’d rather not say,” said Elliot.

“Wanna sit with me?” asked Tiggy.

Elliot nodded and sat beside Tiggy.

At that moment, Baz gave a scream and so did the cheerleaders…

They had noticed something awful. A monstrous mound of greenish brown sludge shambling towards them, its gaping maw ringed with razor sharp teeth…