They found themselves with a long stretch of land covered with holes in the ground and water gathering within them. It became hard to avoid stepping in them with his bare feet. If there was ever a time to have a good pair of boots, it would be at a time like this. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to wander through the mud and murky water that every now and then had nasty little grotesque creatures strutting all around his bare feet.
“I’m beginning to think we should’ve taken the long route instead,” he said.
“How come?”
“Because by the end of our journey through here, I’m going to be stuck with fungus on my feet for the rest of my life.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who is having to wade through this.” He almost thought he ought to throw Lar off his shoulder and let her get a taste of the murky mud that he couldn’t ever rid himself of.
As they continued to walk through the swamp-like land, by around midday they reached dryer ground. The green haze also for some strange reason began to fade as they continued wading through freeing them of its oppressive toxicity.
He stopped for a moment just allowing himself to breathe the fresher air. The air went heavily through his nostrils and exited through his mouth. Oh what a relief. Why can’t every place have air as fresh as this? He was curious why this particular area wasn’t toxic. It was rather odd to say the least.
While he wanted to simply stand there and breathe in the fresh air all day and do nothing more, it became quite clear that there was a major disturbance not far from their current position.
The ground beneath his feet shook and from far in the distance, the sounds of a battle ensued. Bright lights flashed in the sky and disappeared nearly the second they went off. The few trees that lingered around up ahead shook as powerful energy forced its way through.
“What do you think is going on ahead of us?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but we might ought to go take a careful peek.”
Whatever was going on was happening from past a hilltop that hid an ongoing chaotic battle. What they found when he reached the top of the hill was a group of armored fighters going up against a giant creature that was at least twelve feet tall with giant arms and legs.
Their skin was gray with patches of white splotches strewn around. They wore crude iron armor over their chest and swung a massive piece of sharpened metal with a big enough hilt that they could grasp it with both of their big boisterous hands.
It let out a scream as it raised the giant hunk of metal up and sent it slamming down. The chunk of metal it swung did not merely pierce through the body of someone who just a moment ago lived. No, it pulverized them causing their body to turn into mush. The ground shook from the moment the blade hit the ground and he witnessed the other alive armed fighters near the giant question their decision to not simply run away. They stood their ground however willing to continue to confront the creature even after it pulverized one of their own.
Due to the size of the creature, it moved slowly allowing them the opportunity to stab its legs with their swords and slice bits of flesh that sprayed out blood all around.
“What a shame,” Lar said from his shoulder. “That creature just killed one of their sorcerers.” Now that she mentioned it, he did see a broken staff lying around the pile of mush that once constituted a person a moment ago. “Come on. Let’s get away from here and let them fight.”
Rather than go as she suggested, he hid himself at the top of the hill and behind several dead trees observing the battle.
Screams echoed out from the warriors who chose to fight the giant. They stood amidst a bunch of gore and torn bits of flesh on the ground from several victims. And to make the giant appear even more frightening, their six feet long crude-bladed weapon had bits of flesh on it staining it red.
As the creature took more injuries from six heavily armored warriors, the giant used all of its might to bring the sword up again and twist its body in a circular motion to send their weapon at a horizontal angle towards multiple fighters at once.
It tore through them like butter severing at least three in half instantly with one just barely avoiding the blow. Unfortunately, the blade had struck the surviving warrior’s helm sending it flying off their head. They fell over backwards hitting the ground hard having been lucky to not end up dead like the three others. He imagined had they not been lower to the ground already, their head would’ve been flying along with that helmet
He began to approach the creature in a quickened pace. He strode down the hill and passed by more of the dead trees obscuring them from the ones who all fought up ahead.
“Hey hold on just a minute! Are you trying to get us killed?”
“I’ve sat aside for long enough. We should help them.”
“Wait!”
He stopped and hid behind a tree. She jumped off his shoulder looking up at him. “Listen, we shouldn’t involve ourselves in this. And besides, can you even fight? I’m the one who’s been doing all the fighting so far, and I’m telling you right now, I have no interest in getting involved in this.”
“Fine then. Let me do the fighting if I must.”
Lar grimaced towards him. “Just don’t get killed you idiot.”
He could’ve easily stayed out of this fight and walked off leaving the giant to their task of killing anything in its path. However, he felt as if he had a duty to save the ones who were still alive. There were only three of them left including the one whose helm had flown off their head.
As he got closer, he became aware that the one whose helmet flew off their head was in fact a woman who had barely survived and just managed to spot his sudden approach. She quickly averted her gaze from him as the giant lifted their sword and prepared to send it hurdling towards her.
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He managed to pick up a sword from a sliced-in-half warrior and leap up into the air. He pulled both of his arms back and right as his body arced down towards the giant, he thrust the sword forward with enough force to send it penetrating straight through their thick hide and even bone itself.
The giant recoiled causing their grip to cease from their massive sword causing it to slam into the ground. He yanked the sword out causing a burst of blood to pour out of the newly made wound. And before the giant could react properly to his successful strike, he sent the sword straight into its knee causing it to fall on that very same knee. It held its body up by grasping onto the pommel of their large sword bellowing out a pained moan that echoed from the fused armor that surrounded its head.
It had a large enough slit cut horizontally alongside the crudely fused helmet it allowing them to see out of it. Their big bulging eyes could barely be seen through the slit but he could see the intensity in them.
They wanted him dead. And especially him.
But unfortunately for the giant, he did not intend to die. Not to this creature, or any other thing that would like to see him dead any time soon. He had already died once. Now was not the time to die again.
As he held onto the dead soldier’s sword that he picked up moments ago, he was feeling his instincts kicking in even further. Without even thinking, he went into a warrior’s posture planting his feet purposefully into the ground and aiming the sword towards the giant that was preparing itself for another attack.
That’s right. Focus on me.
A scream echoed out of its helmet. It used its other mostly uninjured arm, managed to yank the crude sword out of the ground with one hand and send it flying towards him in a freakishly quick manner. A giant this large had no logical reason to be as quick as it was.
Without even thinking, he avoided the edge of the blade taking a step towards his left. The moment his arm came into reach. He sent the sword directly into the back of their hand which was not fully covered by armor.
It swung its other hand over to him causing dirt to explode out from where he just stood a second ago. He avoided every blow with finesse. He was not without his own struggles however as the fight continued.
No matter how many blows he inflicted upon this giant, it just kept fighting. Its arms would come hurdling towards him. Its feet would lift off the ground trying with all its might to crush him. It would manage to grab its big bulky blade and send it into numerous arcs causing the ground itself to become an utter mess that was hard to stay planted on. He would avoid every strike, but he quickly began to tire.
He forced the sword deep into its unprotected hand once more. This time the giant sent its hand up too quickly for him to retrieve it. He rushed to pick up another blade only for the giant to send its foot down preventing him from reaching it.
The giant began to laugh. “You impress me human. You’ve done well compared to these ones. But how will you do now, if you have no weapon to fight with?” Geeze, this thing can talk? Talk about a frightening revelation. Compared to how the giant looked earlier, they were now covered in dozens of injuries. Blood seeped out of the wounds covering it in blood and even despite all of that carnage inflicted upon its grotesque body, it could still manage to laugh and act as if it felt hardly any pain at all.
It stood up straight while it wielded the blade with one hand. It stared him down and he tried to spot another sword which he could wield. However, the giant kept a sword away from him by having their foot over it and the other sword available to him was stuck in their hand which they carefully kept away from him as well. And as for the other fighters, they were far away on the opposite side of the giant acting useless by just spectating and dragging one of their wounded away.
This isn’t good. After all of these injuries it still has a lot more will. It could take a dozen more injuries quite possibly and still be hurdling its fists, legs, or sword at him with ease. He on the other hand was quite limited in his ability to fight a prolonged engagement, especially after all of this fighting.
As the giant prepared to attack once more with an echoing laugh with that giant piece of metal that it wielded, it suddenly burst aflame. The giant dropped their large weapon and began to scream as bits of flame wrapped all around their body. It started at their feet and crept up to their thighs and groin, eventually spreading up to their chest and head.
From the tiny slit that cut horizontally across the front of their crude helmet, flames flew out of it and the giant fell onto its back as the fire continued to consume it.
It screamed a most terrible scream making it clear of its cruel fate and its desire to live. It did not want to die. Even a giant creature such as it, as gross and ugly as it appeared, wanted nothing more than to keep on living much like himself.
But if he was to choose who got to live, he would always choose himself over something such as it. Especially if it meant to cause him or other people’s lives harm.
The giant’s screams eventually ceased and the fire went out as its entire body appeared blackened thereafter. The fire had burned so hot, that its crude armor had fused even more to its skin. Smoke came out of the slit in their helm and it smelled strangely appetizing as it reached his nose.
As he walked closer, smoke continually rose from the smoldering giant’s body. He began to see what the source of their destruction truly was. It was in fact that knight whose helmet had been thrown off their head earlier. She wielded a sword that was on fire and appeared on edge as he approached.
“You came in with that attack just in time,” he said directly towards her from several meters away. As he approached however, she pointed the tip of her flaming sword towards him.
“You’ll stay right where you are.” She was remarkably beautiful. She had nice round cheeks and brown hair that had a bit of a natural curl to it. Her eyes, though pained and serious, were a nice deep green. She stared at him cautiously and distrustfully. Her stature and way of holding onto that still-flaming sword of hers made it clear that she would use it against him if he wasn’t careful.
The green cloak that went across her back swayed from the wind blowing on through. The two alive armored warriors joined her and stood to her left and right.
Her armor of choice was similar to the other armored men that stood by her side. Her armor had a few modifications however compared to theirs. It was designed more for a woman’s body to exemplify her more feminine features.
“Who or what are you?” she simply asked.
With outstretched arms, he eagerly answered her question. “I am but the very man you see standing before you.”
“You are no such thing. Under no circumstance can a man like yourself survive out here. Do you mean to tell me that you’ve been living in this fog for who knows how long and managed to survive?”
“Why yes, actually that is in fact—”
Judging by the flames on her sword surging in intensity, he had answered incorrectly.
“I saved your life back there. Is that not evidence enough that I don’t mean you or anyone around here any harm?”
“Those who commit themselves to evil are more than willing to be good when it suits them.” She meant every word she said. He wanted to convince her that he was in fact an ally and yet, he thought it futile. She possessed an unwavering resolve and exuded characteristics that would suggest changing her mind was practically impossible. “I suggest you leave at once before I can no longer tolerate your presence any further. But you did save my life for a moment there, so I shall grant you some mercy. But know this stranger. If we are to ever cross paths again, you will be slain or apprehended.”
He smiled at her and regretted that he could not sway their skepticism towards him. “I will go as you say, but I hope one day that we do cross paths again so I may prove myself as to not being the monster that you think I am.” Without saying another word, he turned around and walked off. By the time he looked over his shoulder for the first time, he was out of sight and he had found himself back in the green fog.