Signs of the village and civilization fell behind them as Ada crested a hill and entered the woods. Some of the tall birches were level with where Henry stood on her shoulder, several short elms at her waist. Only a few giant trees speared high into the sky, and they were found on the balanced ground between all the hills.

“I…” Ada pushed trees aside with her stride, focusing her damaged eyes to see past the branches. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to find them if they try to stay hidden. Should I call out? Do you think they want a confrontation?”

“If they’re near, they’ve surely caught notice of you already.”

“Hey, you tiny thugs,” Ada shouted. “Why would you harm that little girl? Come out and face your consequences with a bit of dignity, and your punishment will be lessened.” Nothing happened to the silence.

“I’m looking as best as I can, but it’s harder to see things from up here. The trees are in the way.”

“Henry, I think we should split up. More importantly, you should get down, you’ll have a far better chance finding them. It’s like I’m after rabbits, but you’re the one who can go into their little holes.”

Henry didn’t fancy the comparison. “What would I even do if I found them? I would guess that I can’t beat them by myself.”

“Call for me, I’ll be there. And I doubt they’ll be as hostile to you. Worst case, you’re fast with your arts, aren’t you? Come to me, I won’t let you get hurt.”

“Fine.” Henry jumped off her shoulder, landing with a puff of golden light. Ada took her way, and trying as she might, was unable to keep quiet in the woods. Henry tried the opposite way, a mixture between a fast march and jogging. Ada’s assumption they wouldn’t be as hostile towards him, that they would greet him with welcome arms as a fellow human, made Henry roll his eyes. To be fair, he too had held misconceptions over the giants’ unity, of Gintessa as one whole.

Henry forgot those thoughts, dodged the thickets and paced forward. The woods weren’t untouched, plenty of flattened underbrush from previous giants, though the farther he got from the farm and the entry into these woody hills, the rawer the terrain became. Henry moved away from Ada but tried to keep a mental map of how he’d gone in relation to her. The hills were rising toward mountains, where Henry headed.

“Goddamn mountains,” he muttered. “They don’t end in Gintessa.” He approached the little pass between two hills, passing and rounding its left side.

Voices.

Henry paused, ducked, advancing like a cat, his steps rolling along silently from heel to toe. He saw their heads near a larger birch. Down on even his hands, Henry watched for twigs and the like as he skulked forward. A bush hugging a tree made for good cover as he eavesdropped.

One woman and two men, they were older than Henry, but young still. The woman had short, brown hair, and the little she had was tied into a tiny bun behind the head. She had a decently athletic build, wearing dark shorts which didn’t pass her knees and a tank top covering a small chest. One of the men was tall with a prominent jaw, his long hair tied into a ponytail, wearing an odd, ceremonious brown robe patterned with clouds releasing thunderstorms. The last man was notably shorter, half bald with dark hair. He wore a white shirt and a vest over it, dark breeches, and an out-of-place lute over his back.

“It really wasn’t worth the attention, Raymond,” the woman said to the tall, ponytailed man with the lightning-patterned robe. Their clothes were all travelworn, drab and with faded colors.

“I inventoried plenty,” Raymond said, gesturing to their discarded packs at the campsite. “The rations wouldn’t be enough if the trip down takes too long. We needed those rations.”

“He’s right, Stina,” the half-bald man with the lute said. “We don’t know how long it’ll take down there, how long the tunnel goes. It may feel strange but moving on the farm was the safer option. They’ll never find us once we enter anyways. The miracle stone is above all else in importance.”

Henry perked up. Were they after the miracle stone?

The woman, Stina, pointed to where Henry had come, prickling his nerves at first. But she didn’t look his way. “Whatever, there’s a dumb giant out there looking for us now. I saw her just now.”

“Whom we’ll deal with if she gets in our way.”

“That’s not a solution. We’ll have jeopardized the miracle stone’s location.”

Raymond flicked at the air with his hand. “Shut up, get ready, and let’s move. The surest way to make it worse is to stand around and nag about it.”

Henry tried to assess the situation. The notion of taking on a giant didn’t faze these three, yet Ada shared their confidence. However, the trio gained more credibility. Mentions of the miracle stone made it evident they were on a mission, in Gintessa, not a low feat. Ada felt more unaware of the two parties. Henry decided to disengage.

And with ill fortune, Henry retreated from the bush and tree right as the woman turned from the end of their conversation, and she glimpsed him. “Hey, who’s there? Come out.”

“Who is it?”

“A young man, by the looks of it.”

His initial gut feeling told him it was harmless. Henry stepped forward, into the clearing. “Hi, I’m Henry.”

“Stina,” the woman said.

“Raymond,” the taller long-haired one said.

“Marvin,” the half-bald one with the lute said. “What brings you here?” They were stepping forward quite a bit, observing Henry’s shirtless top, his trousers, especially Raymond and Stina. Their gaze was more intense.

“I’m from the village,” Henry said, and as he did it dawned on him that he hadn’t arrived with a plan to converse with them and had no good story.

“Quite an unnatural way to stumble in,” Stina said, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. “And you were walking away as I spotted you. Surely you listened in. Where might you have been headed?”

There was no good lie out of this one. “Listen, did you steal from that farm and attack the daughter, a little girl?”

“Dumb dolt was stomping after us, thinking we were just easy humans to kick aside,” Stina said. “We taught her a valuable lesson. Now I want a good answer on where you were planning to go before I interrupted you.”

“I was going to return to my friend and ignore this.”

Stina and Raymond exchanged a look, both sneering. “Right.”

“Does this friend of yours happen to be a giant?”

“Listen, you idiots,” Henry said. “You can’t just attack a goddamn farm and their child, pure giants at that. You’ll bring hell down on not just yourselves, but the humans who are stuck here and unable to make a better life. The giants will just take out their anger on them.”

Raymond chuckled. “The young one is trying to lecture us.”

“Seriously, me and my two friends were like yourselves, it didn’t end up well for us. And we even tried our best to stay low and get home, not attacking them, and trouble still followed us. Just get out of here while you have the chance to do it quietly.”

They exchanged amused looks between one another. “Kid, you don’t know the errand we’re on,” Stina said. “From powerful giants in the west. No more than you should know.”

“Then you must be stronger mages,” Henry said. “Are you from Humius?”

“Yes, but we work in western Gintessa now.”

“So you’re strong?”

Raymond smirked. “One might say. Now get over here.”

Henry stepped back. “What do you mean?”

“You listened, you know, and it’s nothing we want to send you away with to tell your giant mistresses.”

“I won’t say a thing, I’ll just forget about it.”

“We won’t hurt you. Just bring you with us, tie you up, and release you once we’re done.” Raymond sighed. “Stina, get him.”

“You don’t give me orders,” she snapped at him, all the while beginning her walk towards Henry.

Henry didn’t have to think on a decision, the instincts knew well enough. He clapped his hands together and was enveloped with golden light, speeding off where he’d come from. He barely heard their surprised exclamations behind the whipping branches he ran through.

The sounds he left behind were echoed. Stina was chasing him. The noise behind amplified, growing; she was closing the distance. How was she closing the distance? Was she so out of his league that her base magics enhanced her body enough to outmatch his arts?

Henry passed the two hills and returned to familiar territory, able to hear the trees Ada were moving. Fingers clasped his neck. His chest was slammed to the ground, his right cheek on the grass. Stina kneeled on his back. “Art of the fighter, huh?” Her strength was immense, Henry unable to break free. Looking back, Henry saw their glow identical in color, tranquility, and shape around the body. They had the same art, and her attire made sense now, the tank top and shorts, the bare feet. “Who did you train under?”

“Self-taught, mostly,” Henry grumbled, trying to glance back at her. “But I sent a letter to Sho’s academy back home.”

“I trained there; I can give you some tips.” She grabbed his arm and folded it in over his back. “As soon as we let you get after we’re done.”

Henry raised his head as much as he could. “Ada! Help! I’m here!”

Stina watched toward the sound of moving trees. Henry wouldn’t wait. With her momentary glance, he jerked up with all his might and curled his leg up, kicking her behind. Stina lost balance, toward him, and with his free hand he grabbed her head and threw her over him. He rose, and immediately she sped towards him. Henry hopped back and threw a globe of pure energy. Stina blocked with a palm, a moderate effort required which gave Henry hope. She sent another back at him. Henry braced similarly, but the force from hers threw him off balance, stumbling backwards. Stina rushed up and grabbed his arm, Henry grabbed hers in return, holding fast and not letting her throw him. She kicked him off the ground and slammed him down.

Her attention snapped elsewhere. They’d both been engrossed in the fight, a second of pause allowing them to notice the closing tremors. Stina dashed aside as the shadow grew over them, and Henry saw Ada’s, large, glorious leg outstretched over him and that big beautiful foot falling down. She stomped right next to Henry, where Stina had been. Ada’s feet were to either side of him, her two shapely legs stretching up above him to those pretty panties he’d lay in yesterday, under the umbrella of her hemline. It warmed his heart to see her stand over him so protectively, to glance to his sides and see the pair of feet he’d worshipped so much return their love for him.

“These mages sure are gutsy,” Ada said. “Stealing from a farm, attacking a child, attacking my slave. Where’s the rest of their gang of thugs?”

Henry got up, staring at Stina from the safety of his position under Ada. “They’re further back.”

Stina didn’t wait for further word, she retreated, and Ada stampeded after her, Henry trailing after. Now Stina was the one being chased, though there was no fear of being caught. Ada couldn’t go full speed with the trees and her poor sight. They returned past the hills once more, Stina regrouping with her two comrades. Ada and Henry arrived at the clearing.

Raymond sighed. “Good job.”

“Quiet,” Stina snapped. “I don’t know how much more evidence you need to see how shit your farm plan was, all the attention it brought.”

“Both of you, shut up,” Marvin said. He stepped forward and pulled out the lute from his back.

Ada laughed. “What’s the plan, to make my ears bleed with your song?”

Raymond pulled the sleeves of his robe back. “Won’t be laughing soon. Stina, you handle your little brother in arts. Marvin and I will take the big-breasted giant.”

Ada rubbed her hands together. “Oh, I’ll enjoy this.” It was a jousting of confident remarks. “Henry, just hold out. I’ll deal with those two then come and help you.”

Henry was the least confident there. It was his first time fighting humans.